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Journal of Virology, October 2003, p. 11114-11124, Vol. 77, No. 20
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.20.11114-11124.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Intermolecular Interactions in a Two-Layered Viral Capsid That Requires a Complex Symmetry Mismatch

Chang-Kwang Limn1 and Polly Roy1,2*

Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294,1 Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom2

Received 14 April 2003/ Accepted 22 July 2003

The surface of the bluetongue virus core forms a T=13 quasiequivalent icosahedral protein shell with 260 trimers of a single gene product: VP7 protein. Underneath is a smooth layer, made up of VP3 protein, which appears to guide and nucleate the assembly of VP7 trimers. The contacts between the two shells are extensive but nonspecific, and construction of the T=13 icosahedral shell requires polymorphism in the association of the VP7 subunits, each of which has two domains that contribute to trimer formation. We used structural and relative sequence information to guide an investigation of how such a complex structure is achieved during virus assembly and what residues are required to form a stable capsid. Fifteen single or multiple site-specific substitution mutations were introduced into the helical domain of VP7, which is closely associated with the VP3 layer, and the effects on capsid assembly were analyzed. Our data show that both the position and the nature of single residues are critical for the attachment of VP7 to VP3 and that formation of a stable VP7 lattice is not the automatic consequence of trimer formation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. Phone: 44(0)20 7927 2324. Fax: 44(0)20 7927 2839. E-mail: polly.roy{at}lshtm.ac.uk.

Journal of Virology, October 2003, p. 11114-11124, Vol. 77, No. 20
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.20.11114-11124.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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