title: The respiratory syncytial virus nucleoprotein-RNA complex forms a left-handed helical nucleocapsid.
abstract: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important human pathogen. Its nucleocapsid (NC), which comprises the negative sense RNA viral genome coated by the viral nucleoprotein N, is a critical assembly that serves as template for both mRNA synthesis and genome replication. We have previously described the X-ray structure of an NC-like structure: a decameric ring formed of N-RNA that mimics one turn of the helical NC. In the absence of experimental data we had hypothesized that the NC helix would be right-handed, as the N-N contacts in the ring appeared to more easily adapt to that conformation. We now unambiguously show that the RSV NC is a left-handed helix. We further show that the contacts in the ring can be distorted to maintain key N-N-protein interactions in a left-handed helix, and discuss the implications of the resulting atomic model of the helical NC for viral replication and transcription.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR, UK.
authors.forename: Saskia E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.affiliation: Université Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay, France.|Institut Pasteur, Unité de Virologie Structurale, Département de Virologie and CNRS Unité de Recherche Associée (URA) 3015, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duquerroy
authors.affiliation: INRA, Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, Domaine du Vilvert, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galloux
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR, UK.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loney
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR, UK.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conner
authors.affiliation: INRA, Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, Domaine du Vilvert, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Eléouët
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unité de Virologie Structurale, Département de Virologie and CNRS Unité de Recherche Associée (URA) 3015, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Félix A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Rey
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhella
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D019251:Nucleocapsid / Q000737:chemistry*; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009698:Nucleoproteins; D012367:RNA, Viral