The UL17 protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 is essential for packaging the viral genome into the procapsid, a spherical assembly intermediate, and is present in the mature virus particle. We have examined the distribution of UL17 in various assembly products and virions to determine which component of the virus particle UL17 is associated with and at what stage in capsid assembly UL17 is re...

The cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) has a protein cage, or capsid, which encloses its genetic material. The structure of the capsid consists of 180 copies of a single protein that self-assemble inside a cell to form a complete capsid with icosahedral symmetry. The icosahedral surface can be naturally divided into pentagonal and hexagonal faces, and the formation of either of these faces ha...

Assembly effectors are small molecules that induce inappropriate virus capsid assembly to antiviral effect. To identify attributes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) assembly effectors, assembly reaction products (normal capsid, noncapsid polymer, intermediates, and free dimeric core protein) were quantified in the presence of three experimental effectors: HAP12, HAP13, and AT-130. Effectors bound stoi...

Extracts from Krebs II ascites cells and rabbit reticulocytes effectively synthesize viral proteins with Sindbis viral mRNA isolated from Sindbis-infected BHK cells. The major product is identical to Sindbis capsid protein on the basis of its electrophoretic mobility in sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gels and two-dimensional tryptic-peptide fingerprints. Various amounts of several additional...

Flock house virus (FHV) is a bipartite, positive-strand RNA insect virus that encapsidates its two genomic RNAs in a single virion. It provides a convenient model system for studying the principles underlying the copackaging of multipartite viral RNA genomes. In this study, we used a baculovirus expression system to determine if the uncoupling of viral protein synthesis from RNA replication aff...

The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) capsid protein precursor, P1-2A, is cleaved by 3C(pro) to generate VP0, VP3, VP1, and the peptide 2A. The capsid proteins self-assemble into empty capsid particles or viruses which do not contain 2A. In a cell culture-adapted strain of FMDV (O1 Manisa [Lindholm]), three different amino acid substitutions (E83K, S134C, and K210E) were identified within the...

Single-stranded genomes of adeno-associated virus (AAV) are packaged into preformed capsids. It has been proposed that packaging is initiated by interaction of genome-bound Rep proteins to the capsid, thereby targeting the genome to the portal of encapsidation. Here we describe a panel of mutants with amino acid exchanges in the pores at the fivefold axes of symmetry on AAV2 capsids with reduce...

Rubella virus (RV) is a leading cause of birth defects due to infectious agents. When contracted during pregnancy, RV infection leads to severe damage in fetuses. Despite its medical importance, compared with the related alphaviruses, very little is known about the structure of RV. The RV capsid protein is an essential structural component of virions as well as a key factor in virus-host intera...

Successive structural changes of bacteriophage λ upon heating were characterized with quantitative experimental methods. In the commonly used Tris-Mg buffer, differential scanning calorimetry measurements first established that the protein capsid of λ phage melts at 87 °C and its genomic DNA melts at 91 °C. Interestingly, prior to the capsid melting, λDNA was found to escape out of the capsid a...