The membranes of enveloped viruses contain embedded proteins that are essential for attaching to cell receptors and fusing with cell membranes. We generally view these glycoproteins as evenly distributed over the surface of the virus particle, as illustrated for influenza virus. But many more envelope glycoproteins are involved in attachment and entry of larger viruses, and at least for vaccinia virus, they appear to be spatially polarized on virus particles.
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