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Towards Understanding the Structural Basis of Endogenous Transcription in dsRNA Viruses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

B. V. Venkataram Prasad ,
J. A. Lawton ,
C. Q. -Y. Zeng  and
M. K. Estes
B. V. Venkataram Prasad
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030
J. A. Lawton
Affiliation:
Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030
C. Q. -Y. Zeng
Affiliation:
Division of Molecular Virology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030
M. K. Estes
Affiliation:
Division of Molecular Virology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030
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In double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses found in animals, bacteria, and yeast, the genome is transcribed within the structurally intact core of the virion with extraordinary efficiency. How is the genome transcribed within the confines of the intact core particles? How are the nascent mRNA transcripts released through the capsid layers? Critical to our understanding of the structural basis of endogenous transcription is the characterization of the internal organization in terms of genome and transcription enzymes in these viruses. Our recent structural studies on rotavirus, a prototypical dsRNA virus, have begun to provide a better understanding of this process.

Rotaviruses are the major pathogens of infantile gastroenteritis. These are complex and relatively large (1000 Å in diameter), nonenveloped icosahedral viruses. The structure of rotavirus is composed of three concentric capsid protein layers enclosing eleven strands of dsRNA (Fig. 1a). Although previous structural studies using electron cryomicroscopy and computer image processing, have described the overall architecture of the rotavirus, the structural details of internal organization has been elusive.

Type
Solving Microbiological Problems With Microscopy
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 3 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '97, Microscopy Society of America 55th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 31st Annual Meeting, Histochemical Society 48th Annual Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, August 10-14, 1997 , August 1997 , pp. 89 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

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References

1. Estes, M.K., in Fields et al., Eds., Virology, Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven (1996)1625.Google Scholar

2. Prasad, B.V.V. and Estes, M.K., in Chiu et al., Eds., Structural Biology of Viruses, New York: Oxford (1996) 239.Google Scholar

3. Prasad, B.V.V.et al., Nature 382(1996)471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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5. We acknowledge the use of cryoEM facilities at the National Center for Macromolecular Imaging at Baylor College of Medicine supported by NIH grant RR02250 (to Dr. W. Chiu), and support from NIH grants, AI 36040 (BVVP), DK 30144 (MKE), and a training fellowship to JAL (GM-08280).Google Scholar