As the title said, I was taught that viruses are a protein shell with a DNA packed in that inject their DNA (or RNA) into the host cell. Now I learn that some viruses actually have membranes and multiple membrane proteins, which is much more complex than the image I have in my mind. Now I'm wondering about how many different phenotypes of viruses there are, is it a binary thing, some are a protein shell and some are a membrane, or more of a spectrum? Do we know?
Basically I have to chose between two projects for my masters thesis in two different labs. The topics are quite different, but both very interesting.
Both labs are amazing smaller labs, with a great PI and coworkers that I would all consider friends. So basically I would love to do my thesis in either lab.
I have written my bachelors thesis about membrane proteins and have also done a lot of membrane stuff. The spectroscopy of photoactive proteins is definitively newer for me, but I feel like I already learned a lot during my current internship in that lab. Both PIs offered me to help me tailor a project to my goals and skills and in both cases it is not unlikely that there would be PhD position afterwards.
But I have realized that I don´t really have a solid long-term plan. I know that it´s not impossible to change your path again later, but since this is a hard decision for me anyway, I might as well consider the career options each project might lead to.
Any advice is welcome : )
Title.
I started thinking about the minimum amount of things that a cell would need to survive. I know that proteins and nucleic acids are for the most part unavoidable, but amino acids could be used as a fuel source instead of carbohydrates which lead me to this question. I know that carbohydrates and lipids are involved in certain syntheses, but let's pretend that we are talking about the simplest possible organism here. I figured that hydrophilic amino acids could form beta sheets and interact with each other, but I don't know how well a cell could synthesize the proteins. There's also the obvious question of what happens when the cell divides. This might not be the right place to post it, but I feel like biochemists might have better answers, chemically speaking.
Sorry for the ramblings, but I was genuinely curious and couldn't find anything about it online, either in forums or in the literature.
If there are multiple proteins involved for different amino acids list them with their respective amino acids. I appreciate any help/direction.
