Figure 3. Comparison between the disordered matrix (MA) and Gag lattices.

(a) A grazing slice through the membrane of the multi-core membrane-enclosed structure illustrated in Fig. 2a. This slice provides a top view of the Gag lattice located at the upper right corner of the panel (yellow rectangle). The inset in a depicts the MA lattice bound to the membrane. This slice is located 3.3 nm above the region marked by the blue rectangle (inset). (b,c) Power spectra of Gag and MA lattices are displayed in b and c, respectively. The distance of the 1st order peaks of the power spectra from the origin are marked with yellow circles and arrows, which when multiplied by (cos 30°)⁻¹ provide an estimate of the corresponding lattice dimensions (~8 nm and ~9 nm, respectively). The presented power spectra were calculated from the regions marked by yellow rectangles in a of this figure and in Fig. 4b (d) Slice through a tomogram of a regular virion with flat membrane displaying MA lattice near the membrane. Scale bars in a and d are 50 nm. Inset scale bar, 25 nm.