Electron microscopic imaging revealed the flexible filamentous structure of the cell attachment protein P2 of Rice dwarf virus located around the icosahedral 5-fold axes.

ABSTRACT: The minor outer capsid protein P2 of Rice dwarf virus (RDV), a member of the genus Phytoreovirus in the family Reoviridae, is essential for viral cell entry. Here, we clarified the structure of P2 and the interactions to host insect cells. Negative stain electron microscopy (EM) showed that P2 proteins are monomeric and flexible L-shaped filamentous structures of ∼20 nm in length. Cryo-EM structure revealed the spatial arrangement of P2 in the capsid, which was prescribed by the characteristic virion structure. The P2 proteins were visualized as partial rod-shaped structures of ∼10 nm in length in the cryo-EM map and accommodated in crevasses on the viral surface around icosahedral 5-fold axes with hydrophobic interactions. The remaining disordered region of P2 assumed to be extended to th

SUBMITTER: Miyazaki N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4892776 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature