The yeast Ty virus‐like particles

Virus-like particle (VLP) assembly is a crucial step of the life cycle of retrotransposons. The S. cerevisiae Ty elements represent an interesting model for the analysis of these particles and thus have been studied extensively. Our current knowledge of the organisation and assembly of Ty1 and Ty3 VLPs is reviewed here. This includes the mechanism of assembly, the role of the Tya core protein during VLP formation and the RNA packaging process. The physical properties of Ty1 VLPs are also described and the latest three-dimensional Ty1 VLP reconstructions are shown. In addition, the relevance of these studies is discussed in the context of retro-element biology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.