Nanoscale cellular organization of viral RNA and proteins in SARS-CoV-2 replication organelles.

ABSTRACT: The SARS-CoV-2 viral infection transforms host cells and produces special organelles in many ways, and we focus on the replication organelles, the sites of replication of viral genomic RNA (vgRNA). To date, the precise cellular localization of key RNA molecules and replication intermediates has been elusive in electron microscopy studies. We use super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and specific labeling to reveal the nanoscopic organization of replication organelles that contain numerous vgRNA molecules along with the replication enzymes and clusters of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). We show that the replication organelles are organized differently at early and late stages of infection. Surprisingly, vgRNA accumulates into distinct globular clusters in the cytoplasmic perinuclear r

SUBMITTER: Andronov L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11143195 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature