Protein P7 of the cystovirus phi6 is located at the three-fold axis of the unexpanded procapsid.
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Katz G, Wei H, Alimova A, Katz A, Morgan DG, Gottlieb P
Protein P7 of the cystovirus phi6 is located at the three-fold axis of the unexpanded procapsid.
PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47489. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047489. Epub 2012 Oct 15.
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- 23077625 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the location of protein P7, the RNA packaging factor, in the procapsid of the phi6 cystovirus. A comparison of cryo-electron microscopy high-resolution single particle reconstructions of the phi6 complete unexpanded procapsid, the protein P2-minus procapsid (P2 is the RNA directed RNA-polymerase), and the P7-minus procapsid, show that prior to RNA packaging the P7 protein is located near the three-fold axis of symmetry. Difference maps highlight the precise position of P7 and demonstrate that in P7-minus particles the P2 proteins are less localized with reduced densities at the three-fold axes. We propose that P7 performs the mechanical function of stabilizing P2 on the inner protein P1 shell which ensures that entering viral single-stranded RNA is replicated.