Description: | Caption: This transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image reveals some of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by two adenovirus-2 virions. The sample had been pelleted, thereby, concentrating the viral particles prior to viewing under the microscope. Visible at this high magnification are the capsomeres, which in this case, were hexagonally-shaped, also known as a hexon, and which together comprised the outer covering of the adenovirus known as a capsid. These adenoviruses displayed an icosahedral symmetry, which means that the shape was characterized by 12 vertices, and 20 facets. Each virion was 70nm – 80nm, and exhibited no spikes. |