Icosahedral Virion Scaffolding Proteins

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

9982284 Fane Virion morphogenesis is often dependent on viral scaffolding proteins. Analogous to scaffoldings used in building construction, these proteins direct the assembly of viral components into infectious agents, but are not found in the final product. Different regions, or domains, within scaffolding proteins, and all proteins in general, perform different functions. And with genetic engineering, it is possible to determine the functions of these domains. In these studies, the functional domains of the Microviridae scaffolding proteins are elucidated in experiments conducted with chimeric proteins. These chimeras are constructed from protein sequences derived from different, but evolutionarily related viruses. Some chimeric proteins can only perform a subset of the functions performed by the naturally occurring proteins. When these partially functional proteins interact within other viral components they can inhibit morphogenesis, preventing virus replication. In turn, viruses can mutate to become resistant to the inhibitory effects of the genetically engineered proteins. It is expected that the results of these studies will provide insights into the design of recombinant proteins, strategies for possible antiviral agents, mechanisms of resistance to antiviral agents and virion morphogenesis.