An alanine residue in human parainfluenza virus type 3 phosphoprotein is critical for restricting excessive N-P interaction and maintaining N solubility.

The phosphoprotein (P) of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3) plays a pivotal role in viral RNA synthesis, which interacts with the nucleoprotein (N) to form a soluble N-P complex (N, free of RNAs) to prevent the nonspecific RNA binding and illegitimate aggregation of N. Functional regions within P have been studied intensively. However, the precise site (s) within P directly involved in N-P interaction still remains unclear. In this study, using a series of deleted and truncated mutants of P of HPIV3, we demonstrate that amino-terminal 40 amino acids (aa) of P restrict and regulate N-P interaction. Furthermore, using in vivo HPIV3 minigenome replicon assay, we identify a critical P mutant (P) located in amino-terminal 40 aa, which fails to support RNA synthesis of HPIV3 minigenome replicon. Although P maintains an enhanced N-P interaction, it is unable to form N-P complex and keep N soluble, thus, resulting in aggregation and functional abolishment of N-P complex. Moreover, we found that recombinant HPIV3 with mutation of A28P in P failed to be rescued. Taken together, we identified a residue within the extreme amino-terminus of P, which plays a critical role in restricting the excessively N-P interaction and keeping a functional N-P complex formation.