Prohead
Encyclopedia
A prohead or procapsid is an immature viral capsid
structure formed in the early stages of self-assembly of some bacteriophages, including the Caudovirales
or tailed bacteriophages. Production and assembly of stable proheads is an essential precursor to bacteriophage genome packaging; this packaging activity can be replicated in vitro. The prohead structure may take a different shape from the head of a mature virion, as seen with the prohead of Bacillus subtilis phage φ29.
Capsid
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus. It consists of several oligomeric structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The capsid encloses the genetic...
structure formed in the early stages of self-assembly of some bacteriophages, including the Caudovirales
Caudovirales
The Caudovirales are an order of viruses also known as the tailed bacteriophages. Under the Baltimore classification scheme, the Caudovirales are group I viruses as they have double stranded DNA genomes, which can be anywhere from 18,000 base pairs to 500,000 base pairs in length...
or tailed bacteriophages. Production and assembly of stable proheads is an essential precursor to bacteriophage genome packaging; this packaging activity can be replicated in vitro. The prohead structure may take a different shape from the head of a mature virion, as seen with the prohead of Bacillus subtilis phage φ29.