Maturation of the Gag core decreases the stability of retroviral lipid membranes

► We monitored the stability of MLV VLPs against a panel of detergents. ► MLV VLPs appeared highly resistant to lysis by some commonly used detergents. ► VLPs containing immature Gag cores were more resistant to detergent lysis. ► Maturation of the Gag core decreases the stability of the VLP lipid bilayer