Cryo-EM structures of herpes simplex virus type 1 portal vertex and packaged genome

Yun-Tao Liu, Jonathan Jih, Xinghong Dai, Guo-Qiang Bi and Z. Hong Zhou ()
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Yun-Tao Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Jonathan Jih: University of California, Los Angeles
Xinghong Dai: University of California, Los Angeles
Guo-Qiang Bi: University of Science and Technology of China
Z. Hong Zhou: University of California, Los Angeles

Nature, 2019, vol. 570, issue 7760, 257-261

Abstract: Abstract Herpesviruses are enveloped viruses that are prevalent in the human population and are responsible for diverse pathologies, including cold sores, birth defects and cancers. They are characterized by a highly pressurized pseudo-icosahedral capsid—with triangulation number (T) equal to 16—encapsidating a tightly packed double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome1–3. A key process in the herpesvirus life cycle involves the recruitment of an ATP-driven terminase to a unique portal vertex to recognize, package and cleave concatemeric dsDNA, ultimately giving rise to a pressurized, genome-containing virion4,5. Although this process has been studied in dsDNA phages6–9—with which herpesviruses bear some similarities—a lack of high-resolution in situ structures of genome-packaging machinery has prevented the elucidation of how these multi-step reactions, which require close coordination among multiple actors, occur in an integrated environment. To better define the structural basis of genome packaging and organization in herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), we developed sequential localized classification and symmetry relaxation methods to process cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) images of HSV-1 virions, which enabled us to decouple and reconstruct hetero-symmetric and asymmetric elements within the pseudo-icosahedral capsid. Here we present in situ structures of the unique portal vertex, genomic termini and ordered dsDNA coils in the capsid spooled around a disordered dsDNA core. We identify tentacle-like helices and a globular complex capping the portal vertex that is not observed in phages, indicative of herpesvirus-specific adaptations in the DNA-packaging process. Finally, our atomic models of portal vertex elements reveal how the fivefold-related capsid accommodates symmetry mismatch imparted by the dodecameric portal—a longstanding mystery in icosahedral viruses—and inform possible DNA-sequence recognition and headful-sensing pathways involved in genome packaging. This work showcases how to resolve symmetry-mismatched elements in a large eukaryotic virus and provides insights into the mechanisms of herpesvirus genome packaging.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1248-6

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