Figure 5. Minus-end motion is not dependent upon the virus fusion machinery.
(A) Illustration of two possible origins of unenveloped capsids that undergo aberrant retrograde transport in axons during the egress stage of infection. In the lower model, membrane fusion is required to release the enveloped capsid into the cytosol to initiate retrograde transport; the upper model does not require a fusion event to release the capsid from the associated membrane. (B) Cultured DRG sensory neurons were infected with gB-null viruses, and de novo assembled progeny viral particles were imaged and tracked in axons between 12–15 hours post infection. Frequencies of retrograde transport events are shown. The data support the upper model in panel A (see text). Error bars are standard error (of the proportions). (n, number of capsids tracked)