File:41579 2003 Article BFnrmicro775 Fig1 HTML.webp

English: a | Electron micrograph of the virus that was cultivated in Vero cells (Image courtesy of Dr L. Kolesnikova, Institute of Virology, Marburg, Germany). Large, club-shaped protrusions consisting of spike protein form a crown-like corona that gives the virus its name. b | Schematic representation of the virus. A lipid bilayer comprising the spike protein, the membrane glycoprotein and the envelope protein cloaks the helical nucleocapsid, which consists of the nucleocapsid protein that is associated with the viral RNA. In the case of coronaviruses, the lipid envelope is derived from intracellular membranes.