Inferring Protein Function in an Emerging Virus: Detection of the Nucleoprotein in Tilapia Lake Virus.

ABSTRACT: Emerging viruses impose global threats to animal and human populations and may bear novel genes with limited homology to known sequences, necessitating the development of novel approaches to infer and test protein functions. This challenge is dramatically evident in tilapia lake virus (TiLV), an emerging "orthomyxo-like" virus that threatens the global tilapia aquaculture and food security of millions of people. The majority of TiLV proteins have no homology to known sequences, impeding functionality assessments. Using a novel bioinformatics approach, we predicted that TiLV's Protein 4 encodes the nucleoprotein, a factor essential for viral RNA replication. Multiple methodologies revealed the expected properties of orthomyxoviral nucleoproteins. A modified yeast three-hybrid assay detected

SUBMITTER: Abu Rass R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8941909 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature