Dengue Virus Paper Model

Dengue virus is a major threat to health that is transmitted by a tropical mosquito. Most infected people experience dengue fever, with terrible headaches and fever and rashes that last 1-2 weeks. In some cases, the virus weakens the circulatory system and can lead to deadly hemorrhaging. It is a small virus that carries a single strand of RNA as its genome. The genome encodes only ten proteins. Three are structural proteins that form the coat of the virus and deliver the RNA to target cells; the others are nonstructural proteins that orchestrate the production of new viruses once inside the cell. The outermost structural protein, termed the envelope protein, is shown here from PDB structure 1k4r. The virus is enveloped with a lipid membrane, and 180 identical copies of the envelope protein are attached to the surface of the membrane by a short transmembrane segment. The envelope protein attaches to a cell surface and begins the infection process.

To build paper model of Dengue virus, download and print the template PDF. Instructions for cutting and assembling are included.