Molecular Recognition and Host-Pathogen Interactions, Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences, CIC bioGUNE, 48160 Derio, Spain.
Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
Sci Adv. 2017 Sep 20;3(9):eaao2182. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aao2182. eCollection 2017 Sep.
Potyviruses constitute the second largest genus of plant viruses and cause important economic losses in a large variety of crops; however, the atomic structure of their particles remains unknown. Infective potyvirus virions are long flexuous filaments where coat protein (CP) subunits assemble in helical mode bound to a monopartite positive-sense single-stranded RNA [(+)ssRNA] genome. We present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) structure of the potyvirus watermelon mosaic virus at a resolution of 4.0 Å. The atomic model shows a conserved fold for the CPs of flexible filamentous plant viruses, including a universally conserved RNA binding pocket, which is a potential target for antiviral compounds. This conserved fold of the CP is widely distributed in eukaryotic viruses and is also shared by nucleoproteins of enveloped viruses with segmented (-)ssRNA (negative-sense ssRNA) genomes, including influenza viruses.
马铃薯 Y 病毒属是植物病毒的第二大属，可导致多种作物的重大经济损失；然而，其粒子的原子结构仍然未知。感染性马铃薯 Y 病毒粒子是长而柔韧的丝状结构，外壳蛋白 (CP) 亚基以螺旋方式组装并结合到单分体正链单链 RNA [(+)ssRNA] 基因组上。我们呈现了分辨率为 4.0 Å 的马铃薯 Y 病毒（WMV）的冷冻电镜 (cryoEM) 结构。原子模型显示出柔韧丝状植物病毒的 CP 具有保守的折叠，包括一个普遍保守的 RNA 结合口袋，这是抗病毒化合物的潜在靶标。CP 的这种保守折叠广泛分布于真核病毒中，也存在于具有分段 (-)ssRNA（负链 ssRNA）基因组的包膜病毒的核蛋白中，包括流感病毒。
