Structure of the nucleocapsid-binding domain from the mumps virus polymerase; an example of protein folding induced by crystallization.

ABSTRACT: The human pathogen mumps virus, like all paramyxoviruses, encodes a polymerase responsible for virally directed RNA synthesis. The template for the polymerase is the nucleocapsid, a filamentous protein-RNA complex harboring the viral genome. Interaction of the polymerase and the nucleocapsid is mediated by a small domain tethered to the end of the phosphoprotein (P), one of the polymerase subunits. We report the X-ray crystal structure of this region of mumps virus P (the nucleocapsid-binding domain, or NBD, amino acids 343-391). The mumps P NBD forms a compact bundle of three alpha-helices within the crystal, a fold apparently conserved across the Paramyxovirinae. In solution, however, the domain exists in the molten globule state. This is demonstrated through application of differential

SUBMITTER: Kingston RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2693374 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature