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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Future Microbiol. 2009 Sep;4:837–856. doi: 10.2217/fmb.09.59

Figure 2. Alphavirus lifecycle.

Figure 2

The lifecycle starts with the attachment of a virion to the cellular receptor (top left), after which receptor-mediated endocytosis, fusion of the viral envelope, disassembly of the core and release of the genomic RNA occur. The replication proteins are then translated and processed (bottom left). These replication proteins enable the replication of the input genomic RNA and translation of the subgenomic mRNA into structural proteins (bottom center). Glycoproteins are translocated across the ER, processed and transported through the Golgi to the plasma membrane (right). Cytoplasmic assembly of genomic RNA and capsid produces the nucleocapsid core, which associates with processed glycoproteins at the plasma membrane, resulting in budding (top right). Scale varies. ER: Endoplasmic reticulum; nsP: Nonstructural protein; PM: Plasma membrane.