Viruses (Aug 2022)

The N-Terminal α-Helix of Potato Virus X-Encoded RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Is Required for Membrane Association and Multimerization

  • Xue Jiang,
  • Yameng Luan,
  • Mengzhu Chai,
  • Yingshuai Yang,
  • Yuting Wang,
  • Wenjia Deng,
  • Yonggang Li,
  • Xiaofei Cheng,
  • Xiaoyun Wu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091907
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 9
p. 1907

Abstract

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Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses replicate in virus-induced membranous organelles for maximum efficiency and immune escaping. The replication of potato virus X (PVX) takes place on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER); however, how PVX-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is associated with the ER is still unknown. A proline-kinked amphipathic α-helix was recently found in the MET domain of RdRp. In this study, we further illustrate that the first α-helix of the MET domain is also required for ER association. Moreover, we found that the MET domain forms multimers on ER and the first α-helix is essential for multimerization. These results suggest that the RdRp of PVX adopts more than one hydrophobic motif for membrane association and for multimerization.

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