Bacteriophage T4 Infection
JCVI-syn3A Minimal Cell
Insulin Release
HIV Vaccine
Caulobacter Polar Microdomain
HIV-Infected Cell
Escherichia coli Bacterium
Cellulose Synthase
Myoglobin in a Whale Muscle Cell
Collagen and Extracellular Matrix
CytoSkeleton
Transfer RNA and Gag Protein
RecA and DNA
Casein Micelle and Fat Globule in Milk
Model of a Mycoplasma Cell
Phage-based COVID-19 Vaccine
Coronavirus
Immunological Synapse
Coronavirus Life Cycle
Myelin
Respiratory Droplet
SARS-CoV-2 and Neutralizing Antibodies
SARS-CoV-2 Fusion
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine
Red Blood Cell Cytoskeleton
Measles Virus Proteins
Lipid Droplets
Poliovirus Neutralization
Influenza Vaccine
Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses
Abiogenesis
Last Universal Common Ancestor
Zika Virus
Insulin Action
Ebola Virus
Autophagy
Mycoplasma mycoides
Chloroplast
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VegF) Signaling
Biosites: Basement Membrane
Biosites: Red Blood Cell
Biosites: Blood Plasma
Biosites: Cytoplasm
Biosites: Muscle
Biosites: Nucleus
Blood
HIV in Blood Plasma
Escherichia coli

Molecular Landscapes by David S. Goodsell

Coronavirus, 2020

Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-019

This painting depicts a coronavirus just entering the lungs, surrounded by mucus secreted by respiratory cells, secreted antibodies, and several small immune systems proteins. The virus is enclosed by a membrane that includes the S (spike) protein, which will mediate attachment and entry into cells, M (membrane) protein, which is involved in organization of the nucleoprotein inside, and E (envelope) protein, which is a membrane channel involved in budding of the virus and may be incorporated into the virion during that process. The nucleoprotein inside includes many copies of the N (nucleocapsid) protein bound to the genomic RNA.


For more information about coronavirus, visit the February Molecule of the Month on coronavirus proteases. There are also many structures of coronavirus proteins in the PDB archive; search for "coronavirus" at the main PDB site to see them.

The painting is based on information about the SARS virus, taken primarily from the following publications:
Masters PS (2019) Coronavirus genomic RNA packaging. Virology 537, 198-207.
Surya W, Li Y, Torres J (2018) Structural model of the SARS coronavirus E channel in LMPG micelles. BBA Biomembranes 1860, 1309-1317.
Li F (2016) Structure, function, and evolution of coronavirus spike proteins. Annu. Rev. Virol. 3, 237-261.
Chang CK, Hou MH, Chang CF, Hsiao CD, Huang TH (2014) The SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein - forms and functions. Antiviral Res. 103, 39-50.
Neuman BW, Adair BD, Yoshioka C, Quispe JD, Orca G, Kuhn P, Milligan RA, Yeager M, Buchneier MJ (2006) Supramolecular architecture of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus revealed by electron cryomicroscopy. J. Virol. 80, 7918-7928.

More information on the painting is available in an article at PLoS Biology.

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