Blog Post Image: The Virus That Makes a Disposable Syringe

The inside of the protein tube is lined with a particular amino acid (glutamine) that has DNA-binding properties along its entire length, the researchers discovered. Their orientation strongly suggests that DNA transport is unidirectional, according to Bentley Fane of the UA’s BIO5 Institute. “The glutamine side chains remind me of the teeth found in the mouth of a giant sea lamprey, which also appears to be a one-way passage,” Fane said (see next image). (Image courtesy of Bentley Fane)