Re: What happens to the protein coat of a virus after it injects it DNA into a

Hello,

It depends on the virus and the type of cell attacked, but there are at least three distinct possibilities:

1) The viral membrane merges with the cell membrane - in this case everything that's attached to the viral membrane now becomes part of the cell membrane.

2) The virus disengages (observed with some bacteriophages) - in which case the recipient cell integrity is restored.

3) The virus remains attached, but does not merge with the cell.

Hope this helps.

A.G.E.