The conjunction of insights from structural biology, solution biochemistry, genetics, and single-molecule biophysics has provided a renewed impetus for the construction of quantitative models of biological processes. One area that has been a beneficiary of these experimental techniques is the study of viruses. In this article we describe how the insights obtained from such experiments can be utilized to construct physical models of processes in the viral life cycle. We focus on dsDNA bacteriophages and show that the bending elasticity of DNA and its electrostatics in solution can be combined to determine the forces experienced during packaging and ejection of the viral genome. Furthermore, we quantitatively analyze the effect of fluid viscosity and capsid expansion on the forces experienced during packaging. Finally, we present a model for DNA ejection from bacteriophages based on the hypothesis that the energy stored in the tightly packed genome within the capsid leads to its forceful ejection. The predictions of our model can be tested through experiments in vitro where DNA ejection is inhibited by the application of external osmotic pressure.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 April 2023.
All research outputs
#7,968,106
of 25,394,764 outputs
Outputs from Biophysical Journal
#2,951
of 10,302 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#38,027
of 155,578 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Biophysical Journal
#19
of 71 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,394,764 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 67th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 10,302 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 155,578 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 74% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 71 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 70% of its contemporaries.
