Assembly of the Tripartite and RNA Condensates of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Factory Proteins In Vitro: Role of the Transcription Antiterminator M_2-1.

ABSTRACT: A wide variety of viruses replicate in liquid-like viral factories. Non-segmented negative stranded RNA viruses share a nucleoprotein (N) and a phosphoprotein (P) that together emerge as the main drivers of liquid-liquid phase separation. The respiratory syncytial virus includes the transcription antiterminator M_2-1, which binds RNA and maximizes RNA transcriptase processivity. We recapitulate the assembly mechanism of condensates of the three proteins and the role played by RNA. M_2-1 displays a strong propensity for condensation by itself and with RNA through the formation of electrostatically driven protein-RNA coacervates based on the amphiphilic behavior of M_2-1 and finely tuned by stoichiometry. M_2-1 incorporates into tripartite condensates

SUBMITTER: Visentin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10303025 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature