Mechanics of virus-like particles labeled with green fluorescent protein

Nanoindentation with an atomic force microscope was used to investigate the mechanical properties of virus-like-particles (VLPs) derived from the avian pathogen infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), in which the major capsid protein was modified by fusion with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). These IBDV-based VLPs assemble as ∼70-nm-diameter T=13 icosahedral capsids with large cargo space. The effect of the insertion of heterologous proteins in the capsid was characterized in the elastic regime, revealing that EGFP-labeled chimeric VLPs are more rigid than unmodified VLPs.

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