Ebola Virus Structure in 3D VR

Have you tried yourself to assemble the coat of the Ebola virus? I have and my results in interactive 3D virtual reality you can enjoy here for free! Of course without any danger o infection....

Ebola virus has a filamentous, rather flexible form. Its genome contains RNA that codes for seven proteins. Like in the case of the HIV virus, the outer viral membrane is the lipid bilayer (elementary cell membrane) taken from the host cell. It is decorated with the viral glycoproteins which help the virus to stick to the host cell and at the same time make difficult for the antibodies to detect it. Ebola virus employs also further, more sophisticated tricks to survive the attack of the antibodies.

On the inner side of the viral lipid bilayer membrane are located the matrix proteins, called VP40. They form hexamers which together form three layers of the matrix. The middle layer is readily identifiable, while the outer and inner layer (which both contain C - terminal domains of the molecules) stay in a very flexible form that cannot be readily identified.

Centrally to the viral matrix lies the nucleocapsid, which protects the viral RNA and is composed of several proteins. It is typical for the Ebola proteins that they take different shapes and functions in order to fulfill different tasks.