Abstract
The assembly of retroviruses is deceptively simple. Only the product of the gag gene is required for the formation of a virus-like particle (1). After its synthesis in the cytoplasm Gag is targeted to the plasma membrane, where Gag-Gag interactions, Gag-RNA interactions, Gag-membrane interactions, and perhaps Gag-host protein interactions lead to a bulging out of the nascent virus particle, first as a horseshoe-shaped and then as a lollipop-shaped structure that can be visualized by electron microscopy. The process of membrane envelopment of the virus is called budding. The last step in budding is a membrane fusion event that serves to pinch off the virus, releasing it into the medium. Late in assembly, perhaps concomitant with pinching off or just preceding it, a viral protease cleaves Gag at several sites, leading to a morphological change in the virus. This process is called maturation and is essential for the virus to become infectious.
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