Figure 4. Influence of the presence or absence of viral ψRNA on particle morphogenesis.

The number of particles is indicated by the value N. (a) and (c) 2D histogram of short and long diameters for respectively VLPs in the absence and in the presence of ψRNA. The size distribution is shifted toward smaller value, and its dispersion is reduced. (b) and (d) 2D histogram of short and long diameters for respectively cores in the absence and in the presence of ψRNA. The same shift in the distribution is observed, although with w weaker amplitude. (e) Box plot of equivalent diameters summarizing the previous results. The equivalent diameter is obtained by converting the 2D projected area of the particle into the diameter of a disk that would give the same area.