Evidence that avian reovirus σNS is an RNA chaperone: implications for genome segment assortment.

ABSTRACT: Reoviruses are important human, animal and plant pathogens having 10-12 segments of double-stranded genomic RNA. The mechanisms controlling the assortment and packaging of genomic segments in these viruses, remain poorly understood. RNA-protein and RNA-RNA interactions between viral genomic segment precursors have been implicated in the process. While non-structural viral RNA-binding proteins, such as avian reovirus σNS, are essential for virus replication, the mechanism by which they assist packaging is unclear. Here we demonstrate that σNS assembles into stable elongated hexamers in vitro, which bind single-stranded nucleic acids with high affinity, but little sequence specificity. Using ensemble and single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, we show that σNS also binds to a partially do

SUBMITTER: Borodavka A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4538827 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature