The functional organization of the internal components of Rice dwarf virus.

The capsid structures of particles of Rice dwarf virus that consisted of different components, namely, intact particles, empty particles lacking the 12 segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), and virus-like particles composed of only the P3 core and P8 outer capsid proteins, generated with a baculovirus gene-expression system, were determined by cryo-electron microscopy. Combining the results with those of biochemical analysis, we assigned proteins of the transcriptional machinery and dsRNA to density clusters around the 5-fold axes and along the radial concentric layers, respectively. P7 protein, a component of the transcriptional machinery, was assigned to the outermost region of the density clusters. The density connecting the transcription complex to the outermost RNA densities implied interactions between the dsRNA and the P7 protein. Our structural analysis and the non-specific nucleic acid-binding activity of P7 explain the spiral organization of dsRNA around the 5-fold axis.

Pleomorphic configuration of the trimeric capsid proteins of Rice dwarf virus that allows formation of both the outer capsid and tubular crystals.

In the double-shelled capsid of Phytoreovirus, the outer capsid attaches firmly to the 3-fold axes of the T=1 core. It then forms a T=13 lattice via lateral interactions among the P8 trimers (Wu et al., 2000, Virology 271, 18-25). Purified P8 molecules also assemble into hexagonal monolayers as well as tubular crystals. To explore the mechanisms of formation of these structures, the configurations of P8 trimers were compared and verified in particles of Rice dwarf virus and in tubular crystals (tubes) whose structure was determined by cryoelectron microscopy using helical reconstruction technique. Remarkable variations in intertrimer contacts were observed in the tubes and in the surface lattice of Rice dwarf virus capsid. Superposition of the atomic structure of P8 trimers in the structures analyzed by cryoelectron microscopy allowed us to identify groups of specific and stable interactions, some of which were preserved in the tubes and the quasi-equivalent T=13 icosahedral lattice of the virion's shell. The flexible nature of the binding between P8 trimers, created via electrostatic interactions that hold radially inward, appears to allow the outer-capsid P8 trimers to envelop the ragged surface of the core, forming the double shell of an intact viral particle.

The dynamic envelope of a fusion class II virus. Prefusion stages of semliki forest virus revealed by electron cryomicroscopy.

Semliki Forest virus is among the prototypes for Class II virus fusion and targets the endosomal membrane. Fusion protein E1 and its envelope companion E2 are both anchored in the viral membrane and form an external shell with protruding spikes. In acid environments, mimicking the early endosomal milieu, surface epitopes in the virus rearrange along with exposure of the fusion loop. To visualize this transformation into a fusogenic stage, we determined the structure of the virus at gradually lower pH values. The results show that while the fusion loop is available for external interaction and the shell and stalk domains of the spike begin to deteriorate, the E1 and E2 remain in close contact in the spike head. This unexpected observation points to E1 and E2 cooperation beyond the fusion loop exposure stage and implies a more prominent role for E2 in guiding membrane close encounter than has been earlier anticipated.

Structure and assembly of a T=1 virus-like particle in BK polyomavirus.

In polyomaviruses the pentameric capsomers are interlinked by the long C-terminal arm of the structural protein VP1. The T=7 icosahedral structure of these viruses is possible due to an intriguing adaptability of this linker arm to the different local environments in the capsid. To explore the assembly process, we have compared the structure of two virus-like particles (VLPs) formed, as we found, in a calcium-dependent manner by the VP1 protein of human polyomavirus BK. The structures were determined using electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM), and the three-dimensional reconstructions were interpreted by atomic modeling. In the small VP1 particle, 26.4 nm in diameter, the pentameric capsomers form an icosahedral T=1 surface lattice with meeting densities at the threefold axes that interlinked three capsomers. In the larger particle, 50.6 nm in diameter, the capsomers form a T=7 icosahedral shell with three unique contacts. A folding model of the BKV VP1 protein was obtained by alignment with the VP1 protein of simian virus 40 (SV40). The model fitted well into the cryo-EM density of the T=7 particle. However, residues 297 to 362 of the C-terminal arm had to be remodeled to accommodate the higher curvature of the T=1 particle. The loops, before and after the C-terminal short helix, were shown to provide the hinges that allowed curvature variation in the particle shell. The meeting densities seen at the threefold axes in the T=1 particle were consistent with the triple-helix interlinking contact at the local threefold axes in the T=7 structure.