Uncleaved NS2-3 is required for production of infectious bovine viral diarrhea virus. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Despite increasing characterization of pestivirus-encoded proteins, functions for nonstructural (NS) proteins NS2, NS2-3, NS4B, and NS5A have not yet been reported. Here we investigated the function of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) uncleaved NS2-3. To test whether NS2-3 has a discrete function, the uncleaved protein was specifically abolished in two ways: first by inserting a ubiquitin monomer between NS2 and NS3, and second by placing an internal ribosome entry site between the two proteins (a bicistronic genome). In both cases, complete processing of NS2-3 prevented infectious virion formation without affecting RNA replication. We tested the hypothesis that uncleaved NS2-3 was involved in morphogenesis by creating a bicistronic genome in which NS2-3 was restored in the second cistron. With this genome, both uncleaved NS2-3 expression and particle production returned. We then investigated the minimal regions of the polyprotein that could rescue an NS2-3 defect by developing a trans-complementation assay. We determined that the expression of NS4A in cis with NS2-3 markedly increased its activity, while p7 could be supplied in trans. Based on these data, we propose a model for NS2-3 action in virion morphogenesis.

publication date

  • March 1, 2004

Research

keywords

  • Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral
  • Viral Nonstructural Proteins
  • Virus Replication

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC369244

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 1242319434

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1128/jvi.78.5.2414-2425.2004

PubMed ID

  • 14963137

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 78

issue

  • 5