title: Membrane association of Wuhan nodavirus protein A is required for its ability to accumulate genomic RNA1 template.
abstract: One common feature of positive-strand RNA viruses is the association of viral RNA and viral RNA replicase proteins with specific intracellular membranes to form RNA replication complexes. Wuhan nodavirus (WhNV) encodes protein A, which is the sole viral RNA replicase. Here, we showed that WhNV protein A closely associates with mitochondrial outer membranes and colocalizes with viral RNA replication sites. We further identified the transmembrane domains (N-terminal aa 33-64 and aa 212-254) of protein A for membrane association and mitochondrial localization. Moreover, we found that protein A accumulates genomic RNA by stabilizing the RNA. And our further investigation revealed that the ability of WhNV protein A to associate with membranes is closely linked with its ability for membrane recruitment and stabilization of viral genomic RNA templates. This study represents an advance toward understanding the mechanism of the RNA replication of WhNV and probably other nodaviruses.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Zhaowei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yongxiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Si
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Yuanyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D030381:Nodaviridae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D020871:RNA Stability; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase