Abstract
The Influenza virus poses a major threat to domestic livestock (chickens, turkeys, pigs) as well as humans, due to its capacity to adapt year after year and avoid the immune system. One distinct particularity of influenza is its morphological heterogeneity: it exhibits a considerable variability from spherical particles about 120 nm in diameter to filamentous particles up to 20 μm in length [1]. There is now mounting evidence that this structural variability is linked to genetic variability which is in direct connection with adaptability. However, there currently is no biophysical method to relate genetic/structural/functional competency at the individual virus level.
References
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