Reconstruction of viruses from solution X-ray scattering data

A model-based method for reconstructing the 3-dimensional structure of icosahedrally-symmetric viruses from solution X-ray scattering is presented. The algorithm is an iterative algorithm that is a generalization of the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm from 3 dimensions (measure the magnitude squared of an unknown complex number) to n dimensions (measure the norm squared of an unknown n-vector). An example of the reconstruction, for data from cowpea mosaic virus, is described. The major opportunity provided by solution X-ray scattering is the ability to study the dynamics of virus particles in solution, information that is not accessible to crystal X-ray diffraction experiments