Index >> Virus Structure and Classification >> Virus Helical Symmetry

Virus Helical Symmetry

The helical capsids consist of monomers arranged in helix around a single rotational axis. The monomers curve into a helix because they are thicker at one end than the other.

The size and shape of the monomers determines the shape of the virus. Helical capsids may be naked (e. g. the tobacco mosaic virus) or surrounded by an envelope (e.g. the influenza virus).