Cryo-EM structures of herpes simplex virus type 1 portal vertex and packaged genome.

ABSTRACT: Herpesviruses are enveloped viruses that are prevalent in the human population and are responsible for diverse pathologies, including cold sores, birth defects and cancers. They are characterized by a highly pressurized pseudo-icosahedral capsid-with triangulation number (T) equal to 16-encapsidating a tightly packed double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome^1-3. A key process in the herpesvirus life cycle involves the recruitment of an ATP-driven terminase to a unique portal vertex to recognize, package and cleave concatemeric dsDNA, ultimately giving rise to a pressurized, genome-containing virion^4,5. Although this process has been studied in dsDNA phages^6-9-with which herpesviruses bear some similarities-a lack of high-resolution in situ structures of genome-pac

SUBMITTER: Liu YT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6732574 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature