title: Structure of the vesicular stomatitis virus nucleoprotein-RNA complex.
abstract: Vesicular stomatitis virus is a negative-stranded RNA virus. Its nucleoprotein (N) binds the viral genomic RNA and is involved in multiple functions including transcription, replication, and assembly. We have determined a 2.9 angstrom structure of a complex containing 10 molecules of the N protein and 90 bases of RNA. The RNA is tightly sequestered in a cavity at the interface between two lobes of the N protein. This serves to protect the RNA in the absence of polynucleotide synthesis. For the RNA to be accessed, some conformational change in the N protein should be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Todd J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Gail W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Wertz
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins