Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) which causes a highly contagious disease of wild and domestic rabbits belongs to the family Caliciviridae [2]. The capsid protein self assembles to form an icosahedral capsid with a T=3 symmetry. It is about 3 ...
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) which causes a highly contagious disease of wild and domestic rabbits belongs to the family Caliciviridae [2]. The capsid protein self assembles to form an icosahedral capsid with a T=3 symmetry. It is about 38nm in diameter and consists of 180 capsid proteins. The capsid encapsulates the genomic RNA and VP2 proteins and attaches the virion to target cells by binding histo-blood group antigens present on gastroduodenal epithelial cells. The Shell domain (S domain) contains elements essential for the formation of the icosahedron. The Protruding domain (P domain) is divided into sub-domains P1 and P2. An hypervariable region in P2 is thought to play an important role in receptor binding and immune reactivity.
