Download MendeleyNear-Atomic Resolution Structure of a Plant Geminivirus Determined by Electron Cryomicroscopy.
Hipp, K., Grimm, C., Jeske, H., Bottcher, B.(2017) Structure 25: 1303-1309.e3
- PubMed: 28712809
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2017.06.013
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
6EK5 - PubMed Abstract:
African cassava mosaic virus is a whitefly-transmitted geminivirus which forms unique twin particles of incomplete icosahedra that are joined at five-fold vertices, building an unusual waist. How its 22 capsomers interact within a half-capsid or across the waist is unknown thus far. Using electron cryo-microscopy and image processing, we determined the virion structure with a resolution of 4.2 Å and built an atomic model for its capsid protein. The inter-capsomer contacts mediated by the flexible N termini and loop regions differed within the half-capsids and at the waist, explaining partly the unusual twin structure. The tip of the pentameric capsomer is sealed by a plug formed by a turn region harboring the evolutionary conserved residue Y193. Basic amino acid residues inside the capsid form a positively charged pocket next to the five-fold axis of the capsomer suitable for binding DNA. Within this pocket, density most likely corresponding to DNA was resolved.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biology and Plant Virology, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany. Electronic address: katharina.hipp@tuebingen.mpg.de.
