title: A versatile building block: the structures and functions of negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus nucleocapsid proteins.
abstract: Nucleocapsid protein (NPs) of negative-sense single-stranded RNA (-ssRNA) viruses function in different stages of viral replication, transcription, and maturation. Structural investigations show that -ssRNA viruses that encode NPs preliminarily serve as structural building blocks that encapsidate and protect the viral genomic RNA and mediate the interaction between genomic RNA and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. However, recent structural results have revealed other biological functions of -ssRNA viruses that extend our understanding of the versatile roles of virally encoded NPs.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Macromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yuna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002213:Capsid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007836:Lassa virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016851:Orthobunyavirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins