Transient RNA Interactions Leave a Covalent Imprint on a Viral Capsid Protein.

ABSTRACT: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the leading cause of persistent liver infections. Its DNA-based genome is synthesized through reverse transcription of an RNA template inside the assembled capsid shell. In addition to the structured assembly domain, the capsid protein harbors a C-terminal extension that mediates both the enclosure of RNA during capsid assembly and the nuclear entry of the capsid during infection. The arginine-rich motifs within this extension, though common to many viruses, have largely escaped atomic-scale investigation. Here, we leverage solution and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at ambient and cryogenic temperatures, under dynamic nuclear polarization signal enhancement, to investigate the organization of the genome within the capsid. Transient inter

SUBMITTER: Harati Taji Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9121876 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature