Do NSm Virulence Factors in the Bunyavirales Viral Order Originate from Gn Gene Duplication?

ABSTRACT: One-third of the nine WHO shortlisted pathogens prioritized for research and development in public health emergencies belong to the Bunyavirales order. Several Bunyavirales species carry an NSm protein that acts as a virulence factor. We predicted the structures of these NSm proteins and unexpectedly found that in two families, their cytosolic domain was inferred to have a similar fold to that of the cytosolic domain of the viral envelope-forming glycoprotein N (Gn^cyto) encoded on the same genome fragment. We show that although the sequence identity between the NSm^cyto and the Gn^cyto domains is low, the conservation of the two zinc finger-forming CysCysHisCys motifs explains the predicted structural conservation. Importantly, our predictions p

SUBMITTER: Lefebvre V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10819786 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature