Structural basis of RNA recognition by the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein.

ABSTRACT: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. Like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 has an unusually large genome that encodes four structural proteins and sixteen nonstructural proteins. The structural nucleocapsid phosphoprotein N is essential for linking the viral genome to the viral membrane. Both N-terminal RNA binding (N-NTD) and C-terminal dimerization domains are involved in capturing the RNA genome and, the intrinsically disordered region between these domains anchors the ribonucleoprotein complex to the viral membrane. Here, we characterized the structure of the N-NTD and its interaction with RNA using NMR spectroscopy. We observed a positivel

SUBMITTER: Dinesh DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7735635 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature