Third type of membrane envelope in a hyperthermophilic virus

Acidianus hospitalis Filamentous Virus 1 lives in the bubbling pools of acid of Yellowstone National Park. Researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the University of Virginia School of Medicine have unlocked the secrets of its membrane, which appears to be almost indestructible. This lipid envelope is so unusual it constitutes a third and new type of membrane envelope – only two types had been identified until now.

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