The Functional Study of the N-Terminal Region of Influenza B Virus Nucleoprotein

Ming Liu; Mandy Ka-Han Lam; Qinfen Zhang; Ruth Elderfield; Wendy S Barclay; Pang-Chui Shaw

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137802

The Functional Study of the N-Terminal Region of Influenza B Virus Nucleoprotein

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 14;10(9):e0137802. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137802. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Ming Liu¹, Mandy Ka-Han Lam¹, Qinfen Zhang², Ruth Elderfield³, Wendy S Barclay³, Pang-Chui Shaw¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Protein Science and Crystallography, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Section of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Influenza nucleoprotein (NP) is a major component of the ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) in influenza virus, which functions for the transcription and replication of viral genome. Compared to the nucleoprotein of influenza A (ANP), the N-terminal region of influenza B nucleoprotein (BNP) is much extended. By virus reconstitution, we found that the first 38 residues are essential for viral growth. We further illustrated the function of BNP by mini-genome reconstitution, fluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy, light scattering and gel shift. Results show that the N terminus is involved in the formation of both higher homo-oligomers of BNP and BNP-RNA complex.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Influenza A virus / chemistry
Influenza A virus / metabolism
Influenza B virus / chemistry*
Influenza B virus / metabolism
Nucleocapsid Proteins
Protein Structure, Tertiary
RNA, Viral / chemistry*
RNA, Viral / metabolism
Viral Core Proteins / chemistry*
Viral Core Proteins / metabolism

Substances

Nucleocapsid Proteins
RNA, Viral
Viral Core Proteins
nucleoprotein, influenza B virus

Grants and funding

This research was supported by a General Research Fund grant (CUHK473810) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (PCS), http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/index.htm, and an Area of Excellence Scheme of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong (Grant AoE/M-12/06) (PCS). Equipment used was obtained through a Special Equipment Grant (SEG CUHK08) from the University Grants Council of Hong Kong, http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/index.htm. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.