The cDNA derived from the fusion gene of the virulent AV strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was expressed in chicken embryo cells by using a retrovirus vector. The fusion protein expressed in this system was transported to the cell surface and was efficiently cleaved into the disulfide-linked F1-F2 form found in infectious virions. The cells expressing the fusion gene grew normally and cou...

The 'fusion peptides' of a group of enveloped viruses that includes influenza, paramyxo-, retro-and filo-viruses are N-terminal regions of their membrane fusion proteins generated by cleavage of non-functional precursors. For the influenza membrane fusion protein, haemagglutinin (HA), the three-dimensional structures of precursor HA, cleaved HA and fusion-activated HA show that the fusion pepti...

Cell fusion is a fundamental phenomenon observed in all eukaryotes. Cells can exchange resources such as molecules or organelles during fusion. In this paper, we ask whether a cell can also transfer an adaptive response to a fusion partner. We addressed this question in the unicellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum, in which cell-cell fusion is extremely common. Slime moulds are capable of ...

FUS7 was previously identified by a mutation that causes a defect in cell fusion in a screen for bilateral mating defects. Here we show that FUS7 is allelic to RVS161/END6, a gene implicated in a variety of processes including viability after starvation, endocytosis, and actin cytoskeletal organization. Two lines of evidence indicate that RVS161/END6's endocytic function is not required for cel...

Fusion of biological membranes is a fundamental process in many cellular functions, including the intracellular delivery of lipids, proteins, and metabolites by transport vesicles, endocytosis, exocytosis, cell division, cell-cell fusion, fertilization, and the invasion of cells by enveloped viruses. These complex fusion processes involve proteins that bring the fusing membranes into close prox...

Vegetative fusion is essential for the development of an interconnected colony in many filamentous fungi. In the ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa, vegetative fusion occurs between germinated conidia (germlings) via specialized structures termed "conidial anastomosis tubes" (CATs) and between hyphae within a mature colony. In N. crassa, both CAT and hyphal fusion are under the regulation of a...

Decapentaplegic (Dpp) signaling determines the number of cells that migrate dorsally to form the dorsal primary branch during tracheal development. We report that Dpp signaling is also required for the differentiation of one of three different cell types in the dorsal branches, the fusion cell. In Mad mutant embryos or in embryos expressing dominant negative constructs of the two type I Dpp rec...