Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus nucleocapsid protein harbors distinct RNA-binding sites in the stalk and head domains.

ABSTRACT: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne Nairovirus that causes severe hemorrhagic fever with a mortality rate of up to 30% in certain outbreaks worldwide. The virus has wide endemic distribution. There is no effective antiviral therapeutic or FDA approved vaccine for this zoonotic viral illness. The multifunctional CCHFV nucleocapsid protein (N protein) plays a crucial role in the establishment of viral infection and is an important structural component of the virion. Here we show that CCHFV N protein has a distant RNA-binding site in the stalk domain that specifically recognizes the vRNA panhandle, formed by the base pairing of complementary nucleotides at the 5' and 3' termini of the vRNA genome. Using multiple approaches, including filter-bonding analysis, G

SUBMITTER: Jeeva S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6442043 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature