MSV Pictures

A copy of the 7th ICTV Report "type picture" of MSV
(courtesy of Kassie Kasdorf, Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria).   Purified MSV particles stained with uranyl acetate.  Size bar indicates 50 nm

"Demonic Particles" or "Martian Face" MSV
(detail from above)
 

The appearance is almost certainly due to the skewing of the two incomplete icosahedra relative to one another (see below)

3-D Structure of MSV:
opposed incomplete T=1 icosahedra with distinct pentameric capsomers

Picture copyright Kyle Dent, UCT, 2008:

derived by 3-D image reconstruction from negatively-stained EM images

All images copyright EP Rybicki unless otherwise stated
August 1998; June 2008