The Corticovirus or Corticoviridae are a family of phages that consist of a round, icosahedral, non-enveloped capsid of a diameter of 60 nm and an internal lipid membrane located between outer and inner protein shell^[1]. The shells are composed of three layers which surfaces reveals a pattern with distinctive features^[2], including bush-like spikes protruding from the twelve vertices^[3].

Genome

The genome is not segmented, constitutes 13% of the virus's weight and contains a single molecule of circular, supercoiled, double-stranded DNA of 9500-12000 nucleotides in length. The genome has a g + c content of 43%^[4].

Literature

1. ↑ Kiveld, H.M., Kalkkinen, N. and Bamford, D.H. (2002). Bacteriophage PM2 has a protein capsid surrounding a spherical lipid-protein core. J. Virol., 76, 8169-8178.
2. ↑ Kiveld, H.M., Männistö, R.H., Kalkkinen, N. and Bamford, D.H. (1999). Purification and protein composition of PM2, the first lipid-containing bacterial virus to be isolated. Virology, 262, 364-374.
3. ↑ Harrison, S.C., Caspar, D.L., Camerini-Otero, R.D. and Franklin, R.M. (1971). Lipid and protein arrangement in bacteriophage PM2. Nat. New Biol., 229, 197-201.
4. ↑ Männistö, R.H., Kivelä, H.M., Paulin, L., Bamford, D.H. and Bamford, J.K.H. (1999). The complete genome sequence of PM2, the first lipid-containing bacterial virus to be isolated. Virology, 262, 355-363.