title: Mutilation of RNA phage Qbeta virus-like particles: from icosahedrons to rods.
abstract: Icosahedral virus-like particles (VLPs) of RNA phage Qbeta are stabilized by four disulfide bonds of cysteine residues 74 and 80 within the loop between beta-strands F and G (FG loop) of the monomeric subunits, which determine the five-fold and quasi-six-fold symmetry contacts of the VLPs. In order to reduce the stability of Qbeta VLPs, we mutationally converted the amino acid stretch 76-ANGSCD-81 within the FG loop into the 76-VGGVEL-81 sequence. It led to production in Escherichia coli cells of aberrant rod-like Qbeta VLPs, along with normal icosahedral capsids. The length of the rod-like particles exceeded 4-30 times the diameter of icosahedral Qbeta VLPs.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research and Study Centre, University of Latvia, 1 Ratsupites Street, LV-1067, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cielens
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ose
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Petrovskis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Strelnikova
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Renhofa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kozlovska
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pumpens
mesh_terms: D017908:Allolevivirus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014771:Virion / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D003545:Cysteine