GO:0046755 / Biological Process

GO:0046755

viral budding

A viral process by which enveloped viruses acquire a host-derived membrane enriched in viral proteins to form their external envelope. The process starts when nucleocapsids, assembled or in the process of being built, induce formation of a membrane curvature in the host plasma or organelle membrane and wrap up in the forming bud. The process ends when the bud is eventually pinched off by membrane scission to release the enveloped particle into the lumenal or extracellular space.