Many paths, similar destinations: viruses and bacterial microcompartments form polyhedra inside cells
Abstract
A large number of biological entities assemble into icosahedral structures, and these are ubiquitous throughout nature. Examples include eukaryotic and prokaryotic viral capsids and more recently discovered bacterial microcompartments. Viral capsids and bacterial microcompartments are both composed of pentameric and hexameric subunits; however, they differ in the type of cargo they encapsulate: nucleic acid or protein. Also, both depart from strict icosahedral symmetry: while this is less common in viruses, among bacterial microcompartments, diverse and heterogeneous polyhedra are common. We review shared principles and key distinctions between the self-directed assembly of various icosahedral architectures and their polyhedral variants in nature and explore the concept that there are multiple paths, influenced by their cargo, to arriving at similar protein cage morphologies.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
Origins and Evolution of Life
RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Virology
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e0157725–e0157725
- Publication date
- 20 April 2026
- Language
- EN