Proteins Of Negative-strand RNA Viruses Research Articles

Structural and Functional Characterization of the Phosphoprotein Central Domain of Spring Viremia of Carp Virus.

Spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) is a highly pathogenic Vesiculovirus in the common carp. The phosphoprotein (P protein) of SVCV is a multifunctional protein that acts as a polymerase cofactor and an antagonist of cellular interferon (IFN) response. Here, we report the 1.5-Å-resolution crystal structure of the P protein central domain (PCD) of SVCV (SVCVPCD). The PCD monomer consists of two β sheets, an α helix, and another two β sheets. Two PCD monomers pack together through their hydrophobic surfaces to form a dimer. The mutations of residues on the hydrophobic surfaces of PCD disrupt the dimer formation to different degrees and affect the expression of host IFN consistently. Therefore, the oligomeric state formation of the P protein of SVCV is an important mechanism to negatively regulate host IFN response.IMPORTANCE SVCV can cause spring viremia of carp with up to 90% lethality, and it is the homologous virus of the notorious vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). There are currently no drugs that effectively cure this disease. P proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses (NSVs) play an essential role in many steps during the replication cycle and an additional role in immunosuppression as a cofactor. All P proteins of NSVs are oligomeric, but the studies on the role of this oligomerization mainly focus on the process of virus transcription or replication, and there are few studies on the role of PCD in immunosuppression. Here, we present the crystal structure of SVCVPCD A new mechanism of immune evasion is clarified by exploring the relationship between SVCVPCD and host IFN response from a structural biology point of view. These findings may provide more accurate target sites for drug design against SVCV and provide new insights into the function of NSVPCD.

Plant viruses of the Amalgaviridae family evolved via recombination between viruses with double-stranded and negative-strand RNA genomes

Plant viruses of the recently recognized family Amalgaviridae have monopartite double-stranded (ds) RNA genomes and encode two proteins: an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and a putative capsid protein (CP). Whereas the RdRp of amalgaviruses has been found to be most closely related to the RdRps of dsRNA viruses of the family Partitiviridae, the provenance of their CP remained obscure. Here we show that the CP of amalgaviruses is homologous to the nucleocapsid proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses of the genera Phlebovirus (Bunyaviridae) and Tenuivirus. The chimeric genomes of amalgaviruses are a testament to the effectively limitless gene exchange between viruses that shaped the evolution of the virosphere.Reviewers: This article was reviewed by Lakshminarayan M. Iyer and Nick V. Grishin. For complete reviews, see the Reviewers’ Reports section.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13062-015-0047-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genetic and Biochemical Evidence for an Oligomeric Structure of the Functional L Polymerase of the Prototypic Arenavirus Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus

The arenavirus L protein has the characteristic sequence motifs conserved among the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase L proteins of negative-strand (NS) RNA viruses. Studies based on the use of reverse-genetics approaches have provided direct experimental evidence of the key role played by the arenavirus L protein in viral-RNA synthesis. Sequence alignment shows six conserved domains among L proteins of NS RNA viruses. The proposed polymerase module of L is located within its domain III, which contains highly conserved amino acids within motifs designated A and C. We have examined the role of these conserved residues in the polymerase activity of the L protein of the prototypic arenavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), in vivo using a minigenome rescue assay. We show here that the presence of sequence SDD, a characteristic of motif C of segmented NS RNA viruses, as well as the presence of the highly conserved D residue within motif A of L proteins, is strictly required for the polymerase activity of the LCMV L protein. The strong dominant negative phenotype associated with many of the mutants examined and results from coimmunoprecipitation studies provided genetic and biochemical evidence, respectively, for the requirement of the L-L interaction for the polymerase activity of the LCMV L protein.

Mutations in Conserved Domain II of the Large (L) Subunit of the Sendai Virus RNA Polymerase Abolish RNA Synthesis

The large (L) protein of Sendai virus complexes with the phosphoprotein (P) to form the active RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The L protein is believed to be responsible for all of the catalytic activities of the polymerase associated with transcription and replication. Sequence alignment of the L proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses has revealed six conserved domains (I–VI) thought to be responsible for the enzymatic activities. Charged-to-alanine mutagenesis was carried out in a highly charged, conserved region (amino acids 533–569) within domain II to test the hypothesis of Müller et al. [J. Gen. Virol. 75, 1345–1352 (1994)] that this region may contribute to the template binding domain of the viral RNA polymerase. The mutant proteins were tested for expression and stability, the ability to synthesize viral RNA in vitro and in vivo, and protein–protein interactions. Five of the seven mutants were completely defective in all viral RNA synthesis, whereas two mutants showed significant levels of both mRNA and leader RNA synthesis. One of the transcriptionally active mutants also gave genome replication in vitro although not in vivo. The other mutant was defective in all the replication assays and thus the mutation uncoupled transcription and replication. Because the completely inactive L mutants can bind to the P protein to form the polymerase complex and the polymerases bind to the viral nucleocapsid template, these amino acids are essential for the activity of the L protein.

Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the viral polymerase of avian pneumovirus.

We report here the nucleotide sequence of the L gene of avian pneumovirus (APV). This is the second pneumovirus L gene and the second avian paramyxovirus L gene, following that of Newcastle disease virus, to be sequenced. The APV L gene is 6099 nucleotides long and encodes a single large ORF of 2004 amino acids. This makes the APV L protein the smallest to be described for any nonsegmented, negative-strand RNA virus. The protein contains six linear non-contiguous domains, a putative ATP-binding site and four polymerase motifs previously described for the L proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of domain III of 14 different L proteins suggests the pneumoviruses to be as distant in evolutionary terms from the other members of the Paramyxoviridae as are the Filoviridae.

Alternative Amino Acids at a Single Site in the Sendai Virus L Protein Produce Multiple Defects in RNA Synthesis in Vitro

Our long-term goal is to define the catalytic domains of the L protein subunit of the Sendai virus RNA polymerase. An aberrant polyadenylation phenotype in the vesicular stomatitis virus tsG16 L protein mutant has recently been identified as a phenylalanine to serine change at amino acid 1488 (Hunt and Hutchinson, Virology 193, 786-793, 1993). To test if functional domains are conserved in the L proteins of negative-strand RNA viruses, we attempted to create a similar polyadenylation defect in the Sendai virus L protein. Nine different amino acid substitutions at the analogous site in the Sendai L protein (cysteine at amino acid 1571) were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis of the gene. Each mutant L protein was synthesized and bound to the Sendai P protein to form the P-L polymerase complex. While none of these L mutants exhibited a change in polyadenylation, the single amino acid changes yielded a variety of activities in vitro. Mutants containing valine, leucine, or phenylalanine at amino acid 1571, amino acids found naturally in the L proteins of other paramyxoviruses, yielded polymerases that had biological activity equal to or better than the wild-type (WT) polymerase. Serine or threonine substitutions in the L protein at this position also resulted in polymerases with nearly WT synthetic activity. In contrast, a glycine substitution significantly decreased overall polymerase activity, whereas a tyrosine substitution gave decreased transcription, but virtually no DI genome replication in vitro. The tyrosine-substituted polymerase may be unable to carry out the packaging step of replication, since DI leader RNA synthesis was normal in this mutant. Mutant L proteins with basic arginine or histidine substitutions were inactive in all viral RNA synthesis in vitro, although the polymerase complexes could bind the nucleocapsid template.