scholarly journals The Methyltransferase Region of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus L Polymerase Is a Target Site for Functional Intramolecular Insertion

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 989
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Heilmann ◽  
Janine Kimpel ◽  
Stephan Geley ◽  
Andreas Naschberger ◽  
Carles Urbiola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Insertion Site ◽  
Polymerase Activity ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Intracellular Location ◽  
L Protein ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis

The L-protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a single-chain multi-domain RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Previously reported attempts of intramolecular insertions of fluorescent proteins into the L-protein resulted in temperature-sensitive and highly attenuated polymerase activity. Here, we describe a novel insertion site that was selected based on in silico prediction. Of five preselected locations, insertion of the fluorescent protein mCherry in the VSV polymerase between amino acids 1620 and 1621 preserved polymerase function even after extended passaging and showed only mild attenuation compared to wildtype VSV polymerase. High magnification fluorescence imaging revealed a corpuscular cytosolic pattern for the L-protein. To confirm that the insertion site tolerates inclusion of proteins others than mCherry, we cloned mWasabi into the same position in L, generating a VSV-LmWasabi, which was also functional. We also generated a functional dual-color-dual-insertion VSV construct with intramolecularly labeled P and L-proteins. Together, our data present an approach to tag VSV polymerase intramolecularly without perturbing enzymatic activity. This L fusion protein might enable future tracing studies to monitor intracellular location of the VSV transcription and replication machinery in real-time life-imaging studies.

scholarly journals Insertion of Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein in a Hinge Region of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus L Polymerase Protein Creates a Temperature-Sensitive Virus That Displays No Virion-Associated Polymerase Activity In Vitro

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (23) ◽  
pp. 12241-12252 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Ruedas ◽  
Jacques Perrault
Keyword(s):  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Polymerase Activity ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Viral Mrna ◽  
L Protein ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of viruses belonging to the order Mononegavirales is part of a large multifunctional L protein that also catalyzes viral mRNA capping and cap methylation. The L protein of this diverse group of agents displays six blocks of conserved sequences. The precise relationship between these conserved regions and individual functions is largely unknown, except for “domain” VI that clearly encodes a viral mRNA cap methylase. The L protein of morbilliviruses (family Paramyxoviridae) was reported to tolerate insertion of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in a region just upstream of domain VI. Recombinant viruses with this insertion grow well in cell culture but are highly attenuated in animal hosts. We show here that the L protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), the prototype of the Rhabdoviridae family, also tolerates insertion of EGFP at a similar site. The modified protein (LEGFP) and the resultant recombinant virus both demonstrated a sharp temperature-sensitive phenotype for polymerase activity, with reduced activity at 37°C and no activity at 37.5°C. Neither translation nor methylation of mutant virus transcripts was affected at 37°C. Curiously, mutant virus grown at permissive temperature contained about threefold-less L protein than the wild-type virus did and displayed no virion-associated polymerase activity in vitro. These findings support the notion that a flexible “hinge” region separates the cap methylase domain of L proteins from upstream functions and open up a number of avenues for studies of L-protein function in the more-tractable VSV model system.

scholarly journals The Connector Domain of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Large Protein Interacts with the Viral Phosphoprotein

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Gould ◽  
Shihong Qiu ◽  
Qiao Shang ◽  
Tomoaki Ogino ◽  
Peter E. Prevelige ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Polymerase Activity ◽  
Terminal Segment ◽  
Acceptor Site ◽  
L Protein ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis ◽  
Modular Layout ◽  
P Proteins

ABSTRACT Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an archetypical member of Mononegavirales, viruses with a genome of negative-sense single-stranded RNA (−ssRNA). Like other viruses of this order, VSV encodes a unique polymerase, a complex of viral L (large, the enzymatic component) protein and P (phosphoprotein, a cofactor component). The L protein has a modular layout consisting of a ring-shaped core trailed by three accessory domains and requires an N-terminal segment of P (P N-terminal disordered [PNTD]) to perform polymerase activity. To date, a binding site for P on L had not been described. In this report, we show that the connector domain of the L protein, which previously had no assigned function, binds a component of PNTD. We further show that this interaction is a positive regulator of viral RNA synthesis, and that the interfaces mediating it are conserved in other members of Mononegavirales. Finally, we show that the connector-P interaction fits well into the existing structural information of VSV L. IMPORTANCE This study represents the first functional assignment of the connector domain of a Mononegavirales L protein. Furthermore, this study localizes P polymerase cofactor activity to specific amino acids. The functional necessity of this interaction, combined with the uniqueness of L and P proteins to the order Mononegavirales, makes disruption of the P-connector site a potential target for developing antivirals against other negative-strand RNA viruses. Furthermore, the connector domain as an acceptor site for the P protein represents a new understanding of Mononegavirales L protein biology.

scholarly journals Tracking the Fate of Genetically Distinct Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Matrix Proteins Highlights the Role for Late Domains in Assembly

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (23) ◽  
pp. 11750-11760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy K. Soh ◽  
Sean P. J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Matrix Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Endosomal Sorting ◽  
Escrt Machinery ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis ◽  
Late Domains

ABSTRACTVesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) assembly requires condensation of the viral ribonucleoprotein (RNP) core with the matrix protein (M) during budding from the plasma membrane. The RNP core comprises the negative-sense genomic RNA completely coated by the nucleocapsid protein (N) and associated by a phosphoprotein (P) with the large polymerase protein (L). To study the assembly of single viral particles, we tagged M and P with fluorescent proteins. We selected from a library of viruses with insertions in the M gene a replication-competent virus containing a fluorescent M and combined that with our previously described virus containing fluorescent P. Virus particles containing those fusions maintained the same bullet shape appearance as wild-type VSV but had a modest increase in particle length, reflecting the increased genome size. Imaging of the released particles revealed a variation in the amount of M and P assembled into the virions, consistent with a flexible packaging mechanism. We used the recombinants to further study the importance of the late domains in M, which serve to recruit the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery during budding. Mutations in late domains resulted in the accumulation of virions that failed to pinch off from the plasma membrane. Imaging of single virions released from cells that were coinfected with M tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein and M tagged with mCherry variants in which the late domains of one virus were inactivated by mutation showed a strong bias against the incorporation of the late-domain mutant into the released virions. In contrast, the intracellular expression and membrane association of the two variants were unaltered. These studies provide new tools for imaging particle assembly and enhance our resolution of existing models for assembly of VSV.IMPORTANCEAssembly of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) particles requires the separate trafficking of the viral replication machinery, a matrix protein (M) and a glycoprotein, to the plasma membrane. The matrix protein contains a motif termed a “late domain” that engages the host endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery to facilitate the release of viral particles. Inactivation of the late domains through mutation results in the accumulation of virions arrested at the point of release. In the study described here, we developed new tools to study VSV assembly by fusing fluorescent proteins to M and to a constituent of the replication machinery, the phosphoprotein (P). We used those tools to show that the late domains of M are required for efficient incorporation into viral particles and that the particles contain a variable quantity of M and P.

Lumenal targeted GFP, used as a marker of soluble cargo, visualises rapid ERGIC to Golgi traffic by a tubulo-vesicular network

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (18) ◽  
pp. 3151-3159 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Blum ◽  
D.J. Stephens ◽  
I. Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Anterograde Transport ◽  
Network Transport ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging ◽  
Tubular Membranes

The mechanism by which soluble proteins without sorting motifs are transported to the cell surface is not clear. Here we show that soluble green fluorescent protein (GFP) targeted to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum but lacking any known retrieval, retention or targeting motifs, was accumulated in the lumen of the ERGIC if cells were kept at reduced temperature. Upon activation of anterograde transport by rewarming of cells, lumenal GFP stained a microtubule-dependent, pre-Golgi tubulo-vesicular network that served as transport structure between peripheral ERGIC-elements and the perinuclear Golgi complex. Individual examples of these tubular elements up to 20 microm in length were observed. Time lapse imaging indicated rapid anterograde flow of soluble lumenal GFP through this network. Transport tubules, stained by lumenal GFP, segregated rapidly from COPI-positive membranes after transport activation. A transmembrane cargo marker, the temperature sensitive glycoprotein of the vesicular stomatitis virus, ts-045 G, is also not present in tubules which contained the soluble cargo marker lum-GFP. These results suggest a role for pre-Golgi vesicular tubular membranes in long distance anterograde transport of soluble cargo. http://www.biologists.com/JCS/movies/jcs1334.html

scholarly journals Visualization of Intracellular Transport of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Nucleocapsids in Living Cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (13) ◽  
pp. 6368-6377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subash C. Das ◽  
Debasis Nayak ◽  
You Zhou ◽  
Asit K. Pattnaik
Keyword(s):  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Virus Production ◽  
Hinge Region ◽  
Cell Periphery ◽  
P Protein ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis

ABSTRACT The phosphoprotein (P) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a subunit of the viral RNA polymerase. In previous studies, we demonstrated that insertion of 19 amino acids in the hinge region of the protein had no significant effect on P protein function. In the present study, we inserted full-length enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) in frame into the hinge region of P and show that the fusion protein (PeGFP) is functional in viral genome transcription and replication, albeit with reduced activity. A recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus encoding PeGFP in place of the P protein (VSV-PeGFP), which possessed reduced growth kinetics compared to the wild-type VSV, was recovered. Using the recombinant VSV-PeGFP, we show that the viral replication proteins and the de novo-synthesized RNA colocalize to sites throughout the cytoplasm, indicating that replication and transcription are not confined to any particular region of the cytoplasm. Real-time imaging of the cells infected with the eGFP-tagged virus revealed that, following synthesis, the nucleocapsids are transported toward the cell periphery via a microtubule (MT)-mediated process, and the nucleocapsids were seen to be closely associated with mitochondria. Treatment of cells with nocodazole or Colcemid, drugs known to inhibit MT polymerization, resulted in accumulation of the nucleocapsids around the nucleus and also led to inhibition of infectious-virus production. These findings are compatible with a model in which the progeny viral nucleocapsids are transported toward the cell periphery by MT and the transport may be facilitated by mitochondria.

scholarly journals Opposing Effects of Inhibiting Cap Addition and Cap Methylation on Polyadenylation during Vesicular Stomatitis Virus mRNA Synthesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 1930-1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianrong Li ◽  
Amal Rahmeh ◽  
Vesna Brusic ◽  
Sean P. J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Rna Synthesis ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Mrna Synthesis ◽  
L Protein ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Gene Junction

ABSTRACT The multifunctional large (L) polymerase protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) contains enzymatic activities essential for RNA synthesis, including mRNA cap addition and polyadenylation. We previously mapped amino acid residues G1154, T1157, H1227, and R1228, present within conserved region V (CRV) of L, as essential for mRNA cap addition. Here we show that alanine substitutions to these residues also affect 3′-end formation. Specifically, the cap-defective polymerases produced truncated transcripts that contained A-rich sequences at their 3′ termini and predominantly terminated within the first 500 nucleotides (nt) of the N gene. To examine how the cap-defective polymerases respond to an authentic VSV termination and reinitiation signal present at each gene junction, we reconstituted RNA synthesis using templates that contained genes inserted (I) at the leader-N gene junction. The I genes ranged in size from 382 to 1,098 nt and were typically transcribed into full-length uncapped transcripts. In addition to lacking a cap structure, the full-length I transcripts synthesized by the cap-defective polymerases lacked an authentic polyadenylate tail and instead contained 0 to 24 A residues. Moreover, the cap-defective polymerases were also unable to copy efficiently the downstream gene. Thus, single amino acid substitutions in CRV of L protein that inhibit cap addition also inhibit polyadenylation and sequential transcription of the genome. In contrast, an amino acid substitution, K1651A, in CRVI of L protein that completely inhibits cap methylation results in the hyperpolyadenylation of mRNA. This work reveals that inhibiting cap addition and cap methylation have opposing effects on polyadenylation during VSV mRNA synthesis and provides evidence in support of a link between correct 5′ cap formation and 3′ polyadenylation.

scholarly journals Biarsenical Labeling of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Encoding Tetracysteine-Tagged M Protein Allows Dynamic Imaging of M Protein and Virus Uncoating in Infected Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 2611-2622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subash C. Das ◽  
Debasis Panda ◽  
Debasis Nayak ◽  
Asit K. Pattnaik
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽  
Matrix Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Dynamic Imaging ◽  
Viral Envelope ◽  
M Protein ◽  
Recombinant Viruses ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Vesicular Stomatitis

ABSTRACT A recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-PeGFP-M-MmRFP) encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein fused in frame with P (PeGFP) in place of P and a fusion matrix protein (monomeric red fluorescent protein fused in frame at the carboxy terminus of M [MmRFP]) at the G-L gene junction, in addition to wild-type (wt) M protein in its normal location, was recovered, but the MmRFP was not incorporated into the virions. Subsequently, we generated recombinant viruses (VSV-PeGFP-ΔM-Mtc and VSV-ΔM-Mtc) encoding M protein with a carboxy-terminal tetracysteine tag (Mtc) in place of the M protein. These recombinant viruses incorporated Mtc at levels similar to M in wt VSV, demonstrating recovery of infectious rhabdoviruses encoding and incorporating a tagged M protein. Virions released from cells infected with VSV-PeGFP-ΔM-Mtc and labeled with the biarsenical red dye (ReAsH) were dually fluorescent, fluorescing green due to incorporation of PeGFP in the nucleocapsids and red due to incorporation of ReAsH-labeled Mtc in the viral envelope. Transport and subsequent association of M protein with the plasma membrane were shown to be independent of microtubules. Sequential labeling of VSV-ΔM-Mtc-infected cells with the biarsenical dyes ReAsH and FlAsH (green) revealed that newly synthesized M protein reaches the plasma membrane in less than 30 min and continues to accumulate there for up to 2 1/2 hours. Using dually fluorescent VSV, we determined that following adsorption at the plasma membrane, the time taken by one-half of the virus particles to enter cells and to uncoat their nucleocapsids in the cytoplasm is approximately 28 min.

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