title: Characterization of Maguari orthobunyavirus mutants suggests the nonstructural protein NSm is not essential for growth in tissue culture.
abstract: Maguari virus (MAGV; genus Orthobunyavirus, family Bunyaviridae) contains a tripartite negative-sense RNA genome. Like all orthobunyaviruses, the medium (M) genome segment encodes a precursor polyprotein (NH(2)-Gn-NSm-Gc-COOH) for the two virion glycoproteins Gn and Gc and a nonstructural protein NSm. The nucleotide sequences of the M segment of wild-type (wt) MAGV, of a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant, and of two non-ts revertants, R1 and R2, that show electrophoretic mobility differences in their Gc proteins were determined. Twelve amino acid differences (2 in Gn, 10 in Gc) were observed between wt and ts MAGV, of which 9 were maintained in R1 and R2. The M RNA segments of R1 and R2 contained internal deletions, resulting in the removal of the N-terminal 239 residues of Gc (R1) or the C-terminal two thirds of NSm and the N-terminal 431 amino acids of Gc (R2). The sequence data were consistent with analyses of the virion RNAs and virion glycoproteins. These results suggest that neither the N-terminal domain of Gc nor an intact NSm protein is required for the replication of MAGV in tissue culture.
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow G11 5JR, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pollitt
authors.forename: Jiangqin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muscat
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Elliott
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D006224:Cricetinae; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016851:Orthobunyavirus / Q000254:growth & development*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012367:RNA, Viral; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins