Virion-associated RNA Polymerase Research Articles

Genomic analysis and biological characterization of a novel Schitoviridae phage infecting Vibrio alginolyticus

Vibrio alginolyticus is a Gram-negative bacterium commonly associated with mackerel poisoning. A bacteriophage that specifically targets and lyses this bacterium could be employed as a biocontrol agent for treating the bacterial infection or improving the shelf-life of mackerel products. However, only a few well-characterized V. alginolyticus phages have been reported in the literature. In this study, a novel lytic phage, named ΦImVa-1, specifically infecting V. alginolyticus strain ATCC 17749, was isolated from Indian mackerel. The phage has a short latent period of 15min and a burst size of approximately 66 particles per infected bacterium. ΦImVa-1 remained stable for 2h at a wide temperature (27-75°C) and within a pH range of 5 to 10. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that ΦImVa-1 has an icosahedral head of approximately 60nm in diameter with a short tail, resembling those in the Schitoviridae family. High throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis elucidated that ΦImVa-1 has a linear dsDNA genome of 77,479 base pairs (bp), with a G + C content of ~ 38.72% and 110 predicted gene coding regions (106 open reading frames and four tRNAs). The genome contains an extremely large virion-associated RNA polymerase gene and two smaller non-virion-associated RNA polymerase genes, which are hallmarks of schitoviruses. No antibiotic genes were found in the ΦImVa-1 genome. This is the first paper describing the biological properties, morphology, and the complete genome of a V. alginolyticus-infecting schitovirus. When raw mackerel fish flesh slices were treated with ΦImVa-1, the pathogen loads reduced significantly, demonstrating the potential of the phage as a biocontrol agent for V. alginolyticus strain ATCC 17749 in the food. KEY POINTS: • A novel schitovirus infecting Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749 was isolated from Indian mackerel. • The complete genome of the phage was determined, analyzed, and compared with other phages. • The phage is heat stable making it a potential biocontrol agent in extreme environments.

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) recombinant viral protein 1 (VP1) and VP2-Flagellin fusion protein elicit distinct expression profiles of cytokines involved in type 1, type 2, and regulatory T cell response in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

In this study, we examined the cytokine immune response against two proteins of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), the virion-associated RNA polymerase VP1 and VP2-Flagellin (VP2-Flg) fusion protein. Since VP1 is not a structural protein, we hypothesize it can induce cellular immunity, an essential mechanism of the antiviral response. At the same time, the fusion construction VP2-Flg could be highly immunogenic due to the presence of the flagellin used as an adjuvant. Fish were immunized with the corresponding antigen in Montanide™, and the gene expression of a set of marker genes of Th1, Th2, and the immune regulatory response was quantified in the head kidney of immunized and control fish. Results indicate that VP1 induced upregulation of ifn-γ, il-12p40c, il-4/13a, il-4/13b2, il-10a, and tgf-β1 in immunized fish. Expression of il-2a did not change in treated fish at the times tested. The antigen-dependent response was analysed by in vitro restimulation of head kidney leukocytes. In this assay, the group of cytokines upregulated after VP1-restimulation was consistent with those upregulated in the head kidney in vivo. Interestingly, VP1 induced il-2a expression after in vitro restimulation. The analysis of sorted lymphocytes showed that the increase of cytokines occurred in CD4-1+ T cells suggesting that Th differentiation happens in response to VP1. This is also consistent with the expression of t-bet and gata3, the master regulators for Th1/Th2 differentiation in the kidneys of immunized animals. A different cytokine expression profile was found after VP2-Flg administration, i.e., upregulation occurs for ifn-γ, il-4/13a, il-10a, and tgf-β1, while down-regulation was observed in il-4/13b2 and il-2a. The cytokine response was due to flagellin; only the il-2a effect was dependent upon VP2 in the fusion protein. To the best of our knowledge this study reports for the first-time characteristics of the adaptive immune response induced in response to IPNV VP1 and the fusion protein VP2-Flg in fish. VP1 induces cytokines able to trigger the humoral and cell-mediated immune response in rainbow trout. The analysis of the fish response against VP2-Flg revealed the immunogenic properties of Aeromonas salmonicida flagellin, which can be further tested for adjuvanticity. The novel immunogenic effects of VP1 in rainbow trout open new opportunities for further IPNV vaccine development using this viral protein.

From Orphan Phage to a Proposed New Family-the Diversity of N4-Like Viruses.

Escherichia phage N4 was isolated in 1966 in Italy and has remained a genomic orphan for a long time. It encodes an extremely large virion-associated RNA polymerase unique for bacterial viruses that became characteristic for this group. In recent years, due to new and relatively inexpensive sequencing techniques the number of publicly available phage genome sequences expanded rapidly. This revealed new members of the N4-like phage group, from 33 members in 2015 to 115 N4-like viruses in 2020. Using new technologies and methods for classification, the Bacterial and Archaeal Viruses Subcommittee of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) has moved the classification and taxonomy of bacterial viruses from mere morphological approaches to genomic and proteomic methods. The analysis of 115 N4-like genomes resulted in a huge reassessment of this group and the proposal of a new family “Schitoviridae”, including eight subfamilies and numerous new genera.

Taxonomic reassessment of N4-like viruses using comparative genomics and proteomics suggests a new subfamily - "Enquartavirinae".

The GenBank database currently contains sequence data for 33 N4-like viruses, with only one, Escherichia phage N4, being formally recognized by the ICTV. The genus N4likevirus is uniquely characterized by that fact that its members possess an extremely large, virion-associated RNA polymerase. Using a variety of proteomic, genomic and phylogenetic tools, we have demonstrated that the N4-like phages are not monophyletic and that N4 is actually a genomic orphan. We propose to create four new genera: "G7cvirus" (consisting of phages G7C, IME11, KBNP21, vB_EcoP_PhAPEC5, vB_EcoP_PhAPEC7, Bp4, EC1-UPM and pSb-1), "Lit1virus" (LIT1, PA26 and vB_PaeP_C2-10_Ab09), "Sp58virus" (SP058 and SP076), and "Dss3virus" (DSS3φ2 and EE36φ1). We propose that coliphage N4, the members of "G7cvirus", Erwinia phage Ea9-2, and Achromobacter phage JWAlpha should be considered members of the same subfamily, which we tentatively call the "Enquartavirinae".

Inhibition of virion-associated IPNV RNA polymerase, VP1, by radiolabeled nucleotide analogs

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) is a bi-segmented, dsRNA virus of the Birnaviridae family. The structural protein VP1 has been postulated as the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), but its transcriptional activity has not been unequivocally identified from viral particles. Here, we assayed partially purified IPNV in an in vitro RNA synthesis system. To test the RdRp, dialdehyde-nucleotide analogs were used to covalently inhibit the polymerase-associated activity. Our results showed that dialdehyde-nucleotide analogs completely abrogated IPNV in vitro RNA synthesis. The protein involved in this process was identified as viral VP1, since: (a) after incubation of IPNV with [α- 32P]2′,3′-dialdehyde-UTP, labeled VP1 protein was identified and (b) VP1 was unable to bind [α- 32P]GTP when particles were preincubated with 2′,3′-dialdehyde-ATP. Thus, within viral particles, inhibition of the transcriptional activity is a result of the binding of 2′,3′-dialdehyde-nucleotide analogs to the RdRp, VP1.

Mapping the site of guanylylation on VP1, the protein primer for infectious pancreatic necrosis virus RNA synthesis

VP1, the putative virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) can be guanylylated in vitro whereupon it becomes a primer for in vitro RNA synthesis [Virology 208 (1995) 19]. The role of a template or other virion polypeptides in the reaction is unknown. To shed light on this question, his-tagged recombinant VP 1 (rVP1) was expressed both in Escherichia coli and insect cells and used in the guanylylation reaction. Unlike other viral VPg polypeptides, the purified rVP1 alone could guanylylate itself in vitro in a template-independent manner. Chemical and enzymatic cleavage in combination with site-directed mutagenesis mapped the site of guanylylation to serine 163. The purified rVP1 functioned as a primer as well as an RdRp in vitro, producing labeled dsRNA in the presence of [α 32P] NTP and synthetically produced viral ss + RNA as a template. Only a single cycle of replication was observed and labeled VPg could be recovered from the dsRNA by RNase V 1 digestion. Denaturation of the dsRNA yielded genome-length labeled ssRNA, indicating that RNA synthesis was not initiated by 3′-end snap-back self-priming. Mutating serine 163 to alanine of rVP1 abolished both its self-guanylylating and polymerizing activity.

Measles virus attenuation associated with transcriptional impediment and a few amino acid changes in the polymerase and accessory proteins.

Measles virus (MV) isolated in B95a cells, a marmoset B-cell line, retains full pathogenicity for cynomolgus monkeys, while its derivative obtained by adaptation to the growth in Vero cells, a monkey kidney cell line, loses the pathogenic potential (F. Kobune, H. Sakata, and A. Sugiura, J. Virol. 64:700-705, 1990). Here, we show with a pair of strains, a fresh isolate (9301B) in B95a cells and its Vero cell-adapted form (9301V), that the in vivo attenuation parallels the decrease of replication and syncytium-inducing capabilities in the original B95a cells and that these in vitro phenotypes are attributable to impediment of transcription, which is already obvious at the level of primary transcription catalyzed by the virion-associated RNA polymerase. On the other hand, cell fusion assays detected no functional difference between the glycoproteins of the two viruses. Essentially the same transcriptional impediment with reduced syncytium induction following Vero cell adaptation was found with two other pairs of strains that had been similarly prepared. Nucleotide sequence comparison between the 9301B and 9301V viruses revealed that a few (at most five) amino acid changes, which sporadically took place in the polymerase (L and P proteins) and/or accessory V and C proteins, were responsible for the in vitro and in vivo attenuation through adaptation to growth in Vero cells.

Incomplete dsRNA Genomes in Purified Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus

The dsRNA containing birnavirus, infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, possesses a virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase which acts both as primer and as polymerase duringin vitroRNA synthesis (P. Dobos, 1995,Virology208, 19–25). Using [α32P]GTP, we have radiolabeled virion RNAin vitroand found that after deproteinization most of the labeled product comigrated in agarose gels with the 3-kbp viral genome, while the remainder migrated faster than the dsRNA and as a heterogeneous smear. Agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) of denatured labeled virion RNA showed a radioactive smear ranging from approximately 100 nucleotides to up to 3000 nucleotides, the size of genome-length single stranded RNA. Hybridization experiments using strand-specific and end-specific oligonucleotides on Northern blots revealed that the radioactivity which migrates with the dsRNA during AGE represents small, 5′ end plus RNA molecules of 100–500 nucleotides. The radioactivity in the faster migrating smear denotes incomplete dsRNAs where full-length, unlabeled minus strands are base-paired with labeled plus strands that are 3′ truncated to different extents. This was confirmed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using end- and strand-specific oligonucleotide primers. The results indicated that 95% of incomplete dsRNA molecules consisted of full-length minus strands and 3′ truncated plus strands. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of RNA replication mechanisms of dsRNA viruses belonging to other families.

A multi-functional enzyme with RNA polymerase and RNase activities: Molecular anatomy of influenza virus RNA polymerase

Influenza virus-associated RNA polymerase is composed of one molecule each of three viral P proteins and carries the complete activity of capped RNA-primed vRNA-directed transcription. The RNA polymerase holoenzyme also carries capped RNA endonuclease to generate capped oligonucleotide primers for transcription and 3′-to-5′ exonuclease to remove erroneously polymerized nucleotides at nascent RNA 3′ termini prior to the addition of correct substrates. PB1 is the core subunit for not only RNA synthesis but also the assembly of PB2 and PA into the holoenzyme complex, while PB2 plays a key role in capped RNA cleavage. The transcriptase is converted into the RNA replicase with the full activity of replication, ie vRNA-directed cRNA synthesis and cRNA-directed vRNA synthesis, after interaction with an as yet unidentified host factor(s).

Protein-Primed RNA Synthesis in Vitro by the Virion-Associated RNA Polymerase of Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus

The 94-kDa virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is present in infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in two forms: (i) as a free polypeptide (VP1) and (ii) as a genome linked protein (VPg) (J. G. Calvert et al., 1991, J. Gen. Virol. 72, 2563-2567). VP1 was guanylylated in vitro by incubating purified virus in the presence of [α32P]GTP. During further incubation in an in vitro RNA polymerase reaction mixture (in the presence of unlabeled GTP), the radiolabeled VP1-pG complex was "chased" via nascent RNA strands and replicative intermediates to a VP1 -dsRNA complex. Labeled VP1-pG was recovered from the intermediate as well as from the final reaction products by digestion with RNase A and RNase V1, a dsRNA-specific nuclease. Analysis of the reaction products indicated that only the plus strands of the two genome segments were being synthesized in vitro which remained base-paired to their templates. The results suggest that in vitro transcription by the virion RdRp is primed by VP1 and then proceeds via an asymmetric, semiconservative, strand-displacement mechanism.

In Vitro Transcription of the Double-Stranded RNA Bacteriophage φ6 Is Influenced by Purine NTPs and Calcium

The double-stranded RNA bacteriophage φ6 contains a virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex. Removal of the virus envelope and the nucleocapsid surface protein, P8, reveals a nucleocapsid core particle (proteins P1, P2, P4, P7) which is the viral polymerase complex, capable of synthesizing RNA strands of positive polarity. The in vitro plus strand synthesis (transcription) reaction of the particle obtained from the mature virion was optimized and its activation and inactivation were investigated. Purine nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs), binding to a low-affinity binding site in the polymerase complex, activated plus strand synthesis GTP was the preferred NTP, but dGTP, ddGTP, and the nonclearable analog GMP-PCP could also switch on transcription. This NTP-binding site is probably different from that of the unspecific viral NTPase found in protein P4 and also from that of the rNTP-specific RNA polymerase active site. Binding of purine NTPs was sufficient for the switch-on; hydrolysis of the NTP was not required. Besides nucleotides, divalent cations had an effect on φ6 in vitro plus strand synthesis. Magnesium ions are required for the activity but calcium ions inhibit the reaction. Manganese ions are shown to dissipate the effect of magnesium and calcium ions, leading to uncontrolled, exceptionally high level plus strand synthesis.

Protein factors required for in vitro transcription of Sendai virus genome.

To elucidate the mechanism of transcription and replication of Sendai virus, we developed an efficient and faithful in vitro transcription system using purified virus particles. The in vitro RNA synthesis was almost entirely dependent on the addition of eukaryotic cell extracts, including those from various cultured mammalian cells, mammalian tissues, and even from plant cells. The RNA products were almost identical to authentic mRNA species synthesized in the infected cells, in their size distribution, the presence of 3'-poly(A) tail and the presence of methylated 5'-cap structure (m7GpppAm). Ribonuclease protection experiments after annealing the in vitro RNA with viral genomic RNA (vRNA) indicated that the virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase transcribes correct regions of the RNA genome in vitro. The active component(s) that is required for Sendai virus mRNA synthesis was partially purified from bovine brain and was separated into at least two complementary fractions, one of which could be replaced by highly purified cellular tubulin. When viral ribonucleoprotein complexes were used instead of virus particles in the in vitro transcription, only Sendai virus-infected cell extracts supported mRNA synthesis, and extracts from uninfected cells or cells infected with other viruses were found to be inert. These results suggest that, in addition to the general factors which are present ubiquitously in eukaryotic cells, a factor(s) specific to Sendai virus-infection is required for Sendai virus transcription.

Photoaffinity labeling of influenza virus RNA polymerase PB1 subunit with 8-azido GTP.

8-Azido GTP (8-N3 GTP) was demonstrated to be polymerized into RNA by influenza virus-associated RNA polymerase at about one tenth the rate of GTP incorporation. The Km value for the azido analogue of GTP in primer-dependent RNA synthesis was 94 microM whereas Km for the natural substrate, GTP, was 6.7 microM. Upon exposure of a mixture of 8-N3 [alpha-32P]GTP and influenza virus ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes to ultraviolet light, the PB1 subunit of viral RNA polymerase was selectively radio-labeled. The photo-labeling of PB1 was competed strongly by GTP and to lesser extents by other nucleoside 5'-triphosphates. These results altogether support the prediction that the substrate-binding site (S site) of influenza RNA polymerase is located on the PB1 protein. In the presence of ApG primer, the 8-N3 GTP binding was reduced to about 40% level, suggesting that the GTP analogue can bind not only to the S site but also to the primer- and product-binding site (P site).

Assembly of double-stranded RNA viruses: bacteriophage ø6 and yeast virus L-A

Double-stranded RNA viruses have a virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity which is involved in such critical steps of viral assembly as genome packaging and minus strand synthesis. In vitro studies of a bacterial dsRNA virus, ø6, and a yeast virus, L-A, have shed light on capsid formation as well as on the protein/RNA interactions and packaging of the viral genomes. In the ø6 system, an empty dodecahedral polymerase complex (procapsid) composed of four protein species is formed without the help of other viral proteins or RNA. This particle packages positive sense viral RNA genome segments in an ATP dependent reaction. The presence of all rNTPs allows the synthesis of complementary (-) strands within the particle. Self-assembly of an additional protein shell (composed of protein P8) around this particle takes place in the presence of Ca2+ ions. In vivo, these nucleocapsids obtain an envelope while still residing in the cell cytoplasm. L-A, in contrast, is not known to make a prohead structure. The Pol domain of L-A's Gag-Pol fusion protein is necessary for packaging of the (+) strand RNA and probably actually binds to the (+) strand packaging site (a stem-loop with a protruding A) insuring its packaging while the Gag domain primes polymerization of the coat protein. N-Acetylation of Gag by the host MAK3 N-acetyltransferase is necessary for proper assembly, and the ratio of Gag-Pol/Gag, determined by the efficiency of - 1 ribosomal frameshifting, is critical for propagation of the M1 satellite dsRNA.

In Vitro Guanylylation of Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus Polypeptide VP1

Incubation of purified infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in the presence of [α32P]GTP resulted in the formation of VP1-GMP. The GMP is linked to VP1 by a phosphodiester bond and its formation does not require the presence of divalent cations. In contrast to reovirus guanylyl transferase, the formation of IPNV VP1-GMP is not reversible and the guanylylation reaction is not inhibited by inorganic pyrophosphate. Furthermore, the IPNV VP1-GMP cannot transfer the GMP to an acceptor molecule (such as GTP) indicating that VP1 is not a capping enzyme. Time-coarse experiments revealed that after the initial guanylylation of VP1 to form VP1-pG, a second GMP is added to form VP1 -pGpG, the formation of which is template-dependent. Since VP1 is present in the virion both as a free polypeptide and in a genome-linked form as VPg, and it is also the virion-associated RNA polymerase, the results suggest that VP1 may function as a primer during in vitro RNA synthesis.

Lack of evidence for proofreading mechanisms associated with an RNA virus polymerase

The in vitro fidelity of the virion-associated RNA polymerase of vesicular stomatitis virus was quantitated for a single conserved viral RNA site and the usual high in vitro base misincorporation error frequencies (approx. 10 −3) were observed at this (guanine) site. We sought evidence for RNA 3′ → 5′ exonuclease proofreading mechanisms by varying the concentrations of the next nucleoside triphosphate, by incorporation ofnucleoside [1-thio]triphosphate analogues of the four natural RNA nucleosides, and by varying the concentrations of pyrophosphate in the in vitro polymerase reaction. None of these perturbations greatly affected viral RNA polymerase fidelity at the site studied. These results fail to show evidence for proofreading exonuclease activity associated with the virion replicase of an RNA virus. They suggest that RNA virus replication might generally be error-prone, because RNA replicase base misincorporations are proofread very inefficiently or not at all.

Phosphorylation of specific serine residues within the acidic domain of the phosphoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus regulates transcription in vitro.

The phosphorylated state of the vesicular stomatitis virus phosphoprotein (P), an essential component of the virion-associated RNA polymerase complex, has been shown to be important for the transcriptional activity of the complex. Recent studies indicate that phosphorylation within the acidic domain of the P protein by cellular casein kinase II is necessary for its activity. In an attempt to identify the exact location of the cell kinase-mediated phosphorylation, we altered specific serine and threonine residues within the acidic domain of the New Jersey serotype of P protein by site-directed mutagenesis. The altered P proteins were then tested to determine what effect these mutations had on the phosphorylated state of the protein in vivo as well as its transcriptional activity in vitro. We report that serine residues 59 and 61 within the acidic domain of the P protein must be phosphorylated for it to be functionally active in a reconstituted transcription assay. These results demonstrate the importance of site-specific phosphorylation in the transcriptional activity of a negative-strand RNA viral phosphoprotein and the crucial role played by a cell protein kinase in this process.

Solubilization and promoter analysis of RNA polymerase from rice stripe virus.

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase associated with rice stripe virus was dissociated from viral RNA (vRNA) by CsCl centrifugation. The solubilized RNA-free RNA polymerase transcribed a model RNA template 50 nucleotides in length carrying the 5'- and 3'-terminal conserved sequences of all four genome RNA segments. A 3'-terminal half molecule of the model template was also active as a template. Hence, we propose that the 3'-terminal conserved sequence serves as a promoter for the rice stripe virus-associated RNA polymerase. The solubilized enzyme, however, was unable to transcribe vRNA. The failure of the solubilized enzyme to transcribe vRNA is discussed in relation to the apparent loss of RNA polymerase activity after treatment of virions with high concentrations of salt.

Human and mouse Mx proteins inhibit different steps of the influenza virus multiplication cycle.

Human MxA and mouse Mx1 are interferon-induced proteins capable of inhibiting the multiplication of influenza virus. MxA protein is localized in the cytoplasm, whereas Mx1 protein accumulates in the nucleus. Taking advantage of stably transfected cell lines that constitutively express either MxA or Mx1 protein, we examined the steps at which these proteins block influenza A viruses. In infected cells expressing MxA protein, all viral mRNAs synthesized as a result of primary transcription in the nucleus by the virion-associated RNA polymerase accumulated to normal levels. These primary viral transcripts were polyadenylated, were active in directing viral protein synthesis in vitro, and appeared to be efficiently transported to the cell cytoplasm. Yet viral protein synthesis and genome amplification were strongly inhibited, suggesting that MxA protein interfered with either intracytoplasmic transport of viral mRNAs, viral protein synthesis, or translocation of newly synthesized viral proteins to the cell nucleus. However, in infected cells expressing Mx1 protein, the concentrations of the longest primary transcripts encoding the three influenza virus polymerase proteins PB1, PB2, and PA were at least 50-fold reduced. Accumulation of the shorter primary transcripts encoding the other viral proteins was also inhibited but to a lesser extent. These results demonstrate that the mouse Mx1 protein interferes with primary transcription of influenza virus in the nucleus, whereas the human MxA protein inhibits a subsequent step that presumably takes place in the cytoplasm of infected cells.

Yeast killer virus transcription initiation in vitro

Killer virions isolated from infected Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells contain an RNA polymerase activity which catalyzes the transcription in vitro of positive polarity RNAs from the L-A and M double-stranded RNA genomic segments of the virus. The RNA polymerase can initiate transcription in vitro with γ-thio-GTP, whose thiophosphate group is found on the 5′ terminus of transcripts. Transcripts produced in vitro by the virion-associated RNA polymerase in the presence of 7mGpppG are significantly more active as translational templates than are transcripts produced in its absence. However, unlike Escherichia coli RNA polymerase transcripts from viral cDNA made in the presence of 7mGpppG, transcripts produced by viral RNA polymerase in the presence of 7mGpppG fail to bind to antibody against 7mG.