Abstract
The tremendous progress made in unraveling the complexities of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication has resulted in a library of drugs to target key aspects of the replication cycle of the virus. Yet, despite this accumulated wealth of knowledge, we still have much to learn about certain viral processes. One of these is virus assembly, where the viral genome and proteins come together to form infectious progeny. Here we review this topic from the perspective of how the route to production of an infectious virion is orchestrated by the viral genome, and we compare and contrast aspects of the assembly mechanisms employed by HIV-1 with those of other RNA viruses.
Highlights
Production of infectious viral progeny is the ultimate aim of the period of residence of a virus within a cell
Genome capture: Viral RNA molecules act as scaffolds tethering adjacent group-specific antigen (Gag) proteins through their nucleocapsid (NC) domains [9,10] allowing the newly-transcribed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 Gag to form oligomers in the cytoplasm [10,11] before trafficking to the plasma membrane where there is evidence that targeting to membrane lipids is linked to the process of genomic RNA (gRNA) nuclear export [12,13,14]
Release from the cell: human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag engages with the host endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) machinery to bud from the cell [20,21]; subsequent morphological maturation of the virion occurs by proteolysis of Gag by the viral protease
Summary
Production of infectious viral progeny is the ultimate aim of the period of residence of a virus within a cell. Formation of viable virion particles during the later stages of the replication cycle is complex and requires coordination, by the virus, of a large number of cellular and viral factors many of which are proteins. Often overlooked in RNA viruses is the central controlling role of the one molecule that is present throughout this process—the viral genome. The packaged RNA is a key player in this highly organized sequence of events and they illustrate the protean capabilities of this molecule in directing cellular functions
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