The external protein coat of a virus particle that surrounds the nucleic acid. The individual proteins that make up the capsid are called capsomers or protein subunits. It has been discovered that resistance to certain viral diseases may be imparted to some plants by inserting the gene for production of the protein coat into the plants.
In microbiology, the complete protein coat of an animal virus: capsomere.
Cover (a protein) of a simple virus particle (virion).
The protein covering around the central core of a virus. The capsid, which develops from protein units called protomers, protects the nucleic acid in the core of the virus from the destructive enzymes in biological fluids and promotes attachment of the virus to susceptible cells.