LAUSR

Cellular membranes are physical barriers that a virus must bypass, and the ability of a virus to transport across these membranes is a critical stage of viral infection. Depending on the route of entry, a virus may face a barrier not only at the exterior plasma membrane, but also inside the cell at the endosomal membrane. There is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms employed by non-enveloped (membrane lacking) viruses to cross biological membranes. Through molecular modeling methods we have investigated the model system Flock House virus (FHV) by computing pathways for externalization of the membrane lytic gamma-peptides.