Peplomer


A peplomer is a glycoprotein spike on a viral capsid or viral envelope. These protrusions bind only to certain receptors on the host cell. They are essential for both host specificity and viral infectivity.
The tail fibers of some bacteriophages, especially the T4-like phages, are modified peplomers.
Influenza virus has two kinds of peplomers:
  1. Triangular, spike-shaped "haemagglutinin"
  2. Mushroom-shaped "neuraminidase".