Albertine Line

The Albertine Line is a concept in virology describing the size difference between two types of viral particles: virions and mature, infectious viruses. It highlights that initially, viruses are assembled as large, incomplete structures called virions, which then undergo changes to become smaller, fully functional infectious particles. This size reduction improves the virus’s ability to infect cells efficiently. Essentially, the Albertine Line illustrates how some viruses undergo structural refinement during their maturation process to enhance infectivity.