Dynamics of Self-Assembly of Model Viral Capsids in the Presence of a Fluctuating Membrane

TL;DR

This study uses a coarse-grained computational model to explore how fluctuating membranes influence viral capsid assembly dynamics, revealing that membranes can promote assembly and are affected by hydrodynamic interactions and membrane properties.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation framework to analyze membrane effects on capsid assembly, highlighting the roles of membrane fluctuations, hydrodynamics, and interaction strength.

Findings

Membranes can promote assembly even at lower sub-unit interactions.

Hydrodynamic interactions significantly increase membrane budding rates.

Membrane deformation influences assembly yield and pathway regimes.

Abstract

A coarse-grained computational model is used to investigate the effect of a fluctuating fluid membrane on the dynamics of patchy-particle assembly into virus capsid-like cores. Results from simulations for a broad range of parameters are presented, showing the effect of varying interaction strength, membrane stiffness and membrane viscosity. Furthermore, the effect of hydrodynamic interactions is investigated. Attraction to a membrane may promote assembly, including for sub-unit interaction strengths for which it does not occur in the bulk, and may also decrease single-core assembly time. The membrane budding rate is strongly increased by hydrodynamic interactions. The membrane deformation rate is important in determining the finite-time yield. Higher rates may decrease the entropic penalty for assembly and help guide sub-units towards each other but may also block partial cores from being completed. For increasing sub-unit interaction strength, three regimes with different effects of the membrane are identified.