A conserved influenza A virus nucleoprotein code controls specific viral genome packaging

Étori Aguiar Moreira, Anna Weber, Hardin Bolte, Larissa Kolesnikova, Sebastian Giese, Seema Lakdawala, Martin Beer, Gert Zimmer, Adolfo García-Sastre, Martin Schwemmle () and Mindaugas Juozapaitis ()
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Étori Aguiar Moreira: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg
Anna Weber: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg
Hardin Bolte: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg
Larissa Kolesnikova: Institute of Virology, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Sebastian Giese: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg
Seema Lakdawala: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Martin Beer: Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Gert Zimmer: Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI)
Adolfo García-Sastre: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Martin Schwemmle: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg
Mindaugas Juozapaitis: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Packaging of the eight genomic RNA segments of influenza A viruses (IAV) into viral particles is coordinated by segment-specific packaging sequences. How the packaging signals regulate the specific incorporation of each RNA segment into virions and whether other viral or host factors are involved in this process is unknown. Here, we show that distinct amino acids of the viral nucleoprotein (NP) are required for packaging of specific RNA segments. This was determined by studying the NP of a bat influenza A-like virus, HL17NL10, in the context of a conventional IAV (SC35M). Replacement of conserved SC35M NP residues by those of HL17NL10 NP resulted in RNA packaging defective IAV. Surprisingly, substitution of these conserved SC35M amino acids with HL17NL10 NP residues led to IAV with altered packaging efficiencies for specific subsets of RNA segments. This suggests that NP harbours an amino acid code that dictates genome packaging into infectious virions.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12861

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