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The simian virus 40 minor structural protein Vp3, but not Vp2, is essential for infectious virion formation

Luz Muñoz

Department of Biological Sciences, California State University at Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840-3702, USA

Correspondence
Editte Gharakhanian
eghara{at}csulb.edu

The SV40 capsid is composed of pentameric capsomeres of the major structural protein Vp1. The two minor structural proteins, Vp2 and Vp3, interact with the capsid. Here, the roles of Vp2 and Vp3 were explored during the course of SV40 infection. Start codons of Vp2, Vp3, or both Vp2 and Vp3, were destroyed by site-directed mutagenesis, and mutant genomes were transfected into CV-1 cells. SV40Vp2 produced plaques and infectious virion particles with titres indistinguishable from wild-type. SV40Vp3 and SV40 Vp2/Vp3 were defective in plaque formation and rendered no infectious particles. All three mutants showed normal nuclear localization of T-Ag and Vp1; they also showed packaging of SV40 DNA by nuclease digestion assays. Thus, Vp3 is essential for formation of infectious SV40 particles, whereas Vp2 is not. One critical role of full-length Vp3 appears to be in virus–cell interactions at post-packaging steps of a permissive infection.

Present address: Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, University of Utah, USA.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Nakanishi, N. Itoh, P. P. Li, H. Handa, R. C. Liddington, and H. Kasamatsu Minor Capsid Proteins of Simian Virus 40 Are Dispensable for Nucleocapsid Assembly and Cell Entry but Are Required for Nuclear Entry of the Viral Genome J. Virol., April 15, 2007; 81(8): 3778 - 3785. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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