Structural highlights
FunctionNCAP_EBOZM Encapsidates the genome, protecting it from nucleases. The encapsidated genomic RNA is termed the nucleocapsid and serves as template for transcription and replication. During replication, encapsidation by NP is coupled to RNA synthesis and all replicative products are resistant to nucleases. Publication Abstract from PubMedDuring viral RNA synthesis, Ebola virus (EBOV) nucleoprotein (NP) alternates between an RNA-template-bound form and a template-free form to provide the viral polymerase access to the RNA template. In addition, newly synthesized NP must be prevented from indiscriminately binding to noncognate RNAs. Here, we investigate the molecular bases for these critical processes. We identify an intrinsically disordered peptide derived from EBOV VP35 (NPBP, residues 20-48) that binds NP with high affinity and specificity, inhibits NP oligomerization, and releases RNA from NP-RNA complexes in vitro. The structure of the NPBP/DeltaNPNTD complex, solved to 3.7 A resolution, reveals how NPBP peptide occludes a large surface area that is important for NP-NP and NP-RNA interactions and for viral RNA synthesis. Together, our results identify a highly conserved viral interface that is important for EBOV replication and can be targeted for therapeutic development. An Intrinsically Disordered Peptide from Ebola Virus VP35 Controls Viral RNA Synthesis by Modulating Nucleoprotein-RNA Interactions.,Leung DW, Borek D, Luthra P, Binning JM, Anantpadma M, Liu G, Harvey IB, Su Z, Endlich-Frazier A, Pan J, Shabman RS, Chiu W, Davey RA, Otwinowski Z, Basler CF, Amarasinghe GK Cell Rep. 2015 Apr 21;11(3):376-89. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.034. Epub 2015 , Apr 9. PMID:25865894[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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