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Biological Chemistry

Irradiation Bubbles Improve Virus Imaging

Electron microscopy technique enables scientists to find hidden protein buried in viral capsids, like finding a needle in a haystack

by Sarah Everts
January 16, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 3

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Credit: Science
Researchers visualize protein in a virus by zapping the sample (top) with additional electrons to create bubbles (bottom) where the protein is hiding; a close-up image of the protein is shown at right.
Radiation induced bubbles in a virus
Credit: Science
Researchers visualize protein in a virus by zapping the sample (top) with additional electrons to create bubbles (bottom) where the protein is hiding; a close-up image of the protein is shown at right.

A moment of laboratory serendipity has led to a bubbly technique that helps scientists image the inner secrets of viruses (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1214120). Researchers led by Alasdair C. Steven of the National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases discovered that after an atypically high sequence of electron pulses was delivered to cryogenically frozen samples of viruses in an electron microscope, bubbles of hydrogen-containing gas formed in the viral capsid, precisely where deeply embedded protein hides beneath layers of a DNA-based exterior. The team immediately envisioned a potential application for this radiation-induced damage of the protein, which leaves DNA intact. Many viruses hide their essential proteins deep inside their capsids, like a needle in a haystack, making it difficult for scientists to know where to focus their analysis. With the new method, microscopists can take a standard scan of the virus and then take the “bubblegram” to help them visualize where, in the original scan, their hidden protein targets lie. Exactly how the bubbles form is not yet known, but the team speculates that being deeply embedded in DNA blocks the diffusion of the protein’s radiation breakdown products, which then build up until bubbles form.

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