Rotaviruses (RVs) are non-enveloped multilayered dsRNA viruses that are major etiologic agents of diarrheal disease in humans and in the young in a large number of animal species. The viral particle is composed of three different protein layers that enclose the segmented dsRNA genome and the transcriptional complexes. Each layer defines a unique subparticle that is associated with a different phase of the replication cycle. Thus, while single- and double-layered particles are associated with the intracellular processes of selective packaging, genome replication, and transcription, the viral machinery necessary for entry is located in the third layer. This modular nature of its particle allows rotaviruses to control its replication cycle by the disassembly and assembly of its structural proteins. In this review, we examine the significant advances in structural, molecular, and cellular RV biology that have contributed during the last few years to illuminating the intricate details of the RV particle disassembly and assembly processes.
Keywords: dsRNA virus; reovirus; rotavirus; virus assembly; virus structure.