From Assembly to Breakdown: The Physics of T=3 Virus Disassembly

Disassembly marks a crucial stage in the viral life cycle, yet its physical mechanisms remain far less understood than assembly. Building on our previous model that captured the assembly pathway of T=3 viruses, we now explore how capsids enclosing an RNA genome break apart under different conditions. By tuning subunit–subunit interactions and ionic strength, we observe several distinct outcomes consistent with experimental findings: genome release through transient openings, rupture into fragments connected by RNA, formation of half shells, and complete breakdown through nucleation and crack propagation. These results show that the same physical principles governing self-assembly also dictate disassembly, providing new insights into viral stability and guiding the design of programmable virus-like particles for controlled cargo release.