Open AccessCryo-EM reveals a previously unrecognized structural protein of a dsRNA virus implicated in its extracellular transmission
Author(s) -
Qianqian Shao,
Xudong Jia,
Yuanzhu Gao,
Zhe Liu,
Huan Zhang,
Qiqi Tan,
Xin Zhang,
Huiqiong Zhou,
Yinyin Li,
De Wu,
Qinfen Zhang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos pathogens
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.719
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1553-7374
pISSN - 1553-7366
DOI - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009396
Subject(s) - capsid , extracellular , biology , virus , virology , virus like particle , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , recombinant dna , gene
Mosquito viruses cause unpredictable outbreaks of disease. Recently, several unassigned viruses isolated from mosquitoes, including the Omono River virus (OmRV), were identified as totivirus-like viruses, with features similar to those of the Totiviridae family. Most reported members of this family infect fungi or protozoans and lack an extracellular life cycle stage. Here, we identified a new strain of OmRV and determined high-resolution structures for this virus using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. The structures feature an unexpected protrusion at the five-fold vertex of the capsid. Disassociation of the protrusion could result in several conformational changes in the major capsid. All these structures, together with some biological results, suggest the protrusions’ associations with the extracellular transmission of OmRV.