03 Foot-and-mouth virus

Based on PDB code 4IV3, this is the structure of recombinant foot-and-mouth-disease virus (FMDV), a member of the RNA picornavirus family. Recombinant FMDV illustrates the development of empty capsid viruses as important and safe vaccines for cattle and livestock, to enhance their immune response to infectious FMDV outbreaks.

We have made two related models of the virus to illustrate the capsid structure:

The first model shows the complete spherical virus and how the capsid shell of FMDV is composed of 240 copies of the VP1-4 subunits, arranged into twelve pentamers that fold together into a smooth icosahedral sphere. Each subunit is coloured separately. This 6.5 cm model is 2.2 million times larger than the 30 nm diameter of the virus and comes with a removable display stand.

The second model shows a zoom-in of one of the twelve repeating symmetric units that make up the spherical capsid shell. Each unit has twenty copies of the VP1-4 subunits, arranged to form a tessellating pentamer shape. This 6.5 cm model is 4 million times larger than the 16 nm diameter of the symmetry unit, and is a free-standing model (no base).

For further enquiries, information or bespoke models, please get in touch via email at hello@molecmodels.co.uk

Please note: Some of our molecular models contain small parts not suitable for children under 3 years or any individuals who have a tendency to place inedible objects in their mouths.