The definition of structure as the arrangement of and relations between the parts of something complex has always been a challenge in virology. The balance required for a virus to be sufficiently stable to allow transmission yet also be primed for disassembly on contact with a permissive cell is precarious and seemingly difficult to attain. Add to this that virus structural components often have multiple functions such as receptor binding, fusion, and cleavage, and the puzzle deepens. It also has consequences: virus yields may be compromised, vaccine shelf-life may be limited, and the ability to quickly evolve away from an intervention may be underestimated. Progress in understanding virus structure and the ways in which it might be exploited were the subject of the latest International Virus Assembly Symposium. Whole viruses, individual components, and transient intermediates were revealed at sufficiently high resolution to deduce the mechanisms concerned.

将结构定义为复杂事物各部分之间的排列和关系一直是病毒学中的一个挑战。病毒既要足够稳定以允许传播，又要在与允许的细胞接触时准备好分解，所需的平衡是不稳定的，而且似乎很难实现。再加上病毒的结构成分往往具有受体结合、融合、裂解等多种功能，谜团就加深了。它还会产生后果：病毒产量可能会受到影响，疫苗的保质期可能会受到限制，并且快速摆脱干预的能力可能会被低估。最新一届国际病毒组装研讨会的主题是了解病毒结构及其可能被利用的方式的进展。以足够高的分辨率显示整个病毒、单个组件和瞬时中间体，以推断相关机制。