This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Stevens, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Barclay, W. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Stevens, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Barclay, W. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Virol, June 1998, p. 5307-5312, Vol. 72, No. 6
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The N-Terminal Extension of the Influenza B Virus Nucleoprotein Is Not Required for Nuclear Accumulation or the Expression and Replication of a Model RNA

Mark P. Stevens and Wendy S. Barclay*

School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AJ, United Kingdom

Received 16 December 1997/Accepted 17 March 1998

The nucleoprotein (NP) of influenza B virus is 50 amino acids longer at the N-terminus than influenza A virus NP and lacks homology to the A virus protein over the first 69 residues. We have deleted the N-terminal 51 and 69 residues of the influenza B/Ann Arbor/1/66 virus NP and show that nuclear accumulation of the protein is unaffected. This indicates that the nuclear localization signal is not located at the extreme N terminus, as in influenza A virus NP. To determine if the N-terminal mutants could support the expression and replication of a model influenza B virus RNA, the genes encoding the subunits of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (PA, PB1, and PB2) were cloned. Coexpression of NP and the P proteins in 293 cells was found to permit the expression and replication of a transfected model RNA based on segment 4 of B/Maryland/59, in which the hemagglutinin-coding region was replaced by a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. The expression and replication of the synthetic RNA were not affected by the replacement of NP with NP mutants lacking the N-terminal 51 or 69 residues, indicating that the N-terminal extension is not required for transcription or replication of the viral RNA. In addition, we report that the influenza B virus NP cannot be functionally replaced by type A virus NP in this system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AJ, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (1189) 316368. Fax: 44 (1189) 316671. E-mail: w.s.barclay{at}reading.ac.uk.

J Virol, June 1998, p. 5307-5312, Vol. 72, No. 6
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Jackson, D., Cadman, A., Zurcher, T., Barclay, W. S. (2002). A Reverse Genetics Approach for Recovery of Recombinant Influenza B Viruses Entirely from cDNA. J. Virol. 76: 11744-11747 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wurm, T., Chen, H., Hodgson, T., Britton, P., Brooks, G., Hiscox, J. A. (2001). Localization to the Nucleolus Is a Common Feature of Coronavirus Nucleoproteins, and the Protein May Disrupt Host Cell Division. J. Virol. 75: 9345-9356 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hiromoto, Y., Saito, T., Lindstrom, S. E., Li, Y., Nerome, R., Sugita, S., Shinjoh, M., Nerome, K. (2000). Phylogenetic analysis of the three polymerase genes (PB1, PB2 and PA) of influenza B virus. J. Gen. Virol. 81: 929-937 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Zhirnov, O. P., Konakova, T. E., Garten, W., Klenk, H.-D. (1999). Caspase-Dependent N-Terminal Cleavage of Influenza Virus Nucleocapsid Protein in Infected Cells. J. Virol. 73: 10158-10163 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rowley, K. V., Harvey, R., Barclay, W. S. (1999). Isolation and characterization of a transfectant influenza B virus altered in RNA segment 6. J. Gen. Virol. 80: 2353-2359 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mena, I., Jambrina, E., Albo, C., Perales, B., Ortín, J., Arrese, M., Vallejo, D., Portela, A. (1999). Mutational Analysis of Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein: Identification of Mutations That Affect RNA Replication. J. Virol. 73: 1186-1194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»