Talking about viral protein coats in class reminded me of the recent end to a band on Italian cured meat. Since the mid 1970s, the U.S.D.A. has been banning the import of non seasoned or cooked hams because of concerns about swine vesicular disease (SVDV). This virus is particularly problematic because it is unusually resistant to heat. X-ray crystallography of the capsid showed that in SVDV there is an increase in ions along the awes where the five structural proteins connect. Additionally, the hydrophobic pocket in the ß-barel of the protein VP1 is larger than in similar strains, which could allow for the binding of different pocket factors that increase stabilization of the capsid.
Image from Fry et al. 2003 showing the structure of the SVDV capsid showing the four different structural proteins (VP1,2,3, and 4).