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Molecular Organisation of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus

Authors :
Pulkkinen, Lauri I. A.
Barrass, Sarah V.
Domanska, Aušra
Överby, Anna K.
Anastasina, Maria
Butcher, Sarah J.
Pulkkinen, Lauri I. A.
Barrass, Sarah V.
Domanska, Aušra
Överby, Anna K.
Anastasina, Maria
Butcher, Sarah J.
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a pathogenic, enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. Structural studies of flavivirus virions have primarily focused on mosquito-borne species, with only one cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of a tick-borne species published. Here, we present a 3.3 Å cryo-EM structure of the TBEV virion of the Kuutsalo-14 isolate, confirming the overall organisation of the virus. We observe conformational switching of the peripheral and transmembrane helices of M protein, which can explain the quasi-equivalent packing of the viral proteins and highlights their importance in stabilising membrane protein arrangement in the virion. The residues responsible for M protein interactions are highly conserved in TBEV but not in the structurally studied Hypr strain, nor in mosquito-borne flaviviruses. These interactions may compensate for the lower number of hydrogen bonds between E proteins in TBEV compared to the mosquito-borne flaviviruses. The structure reveals two lipids bound in the E protein which are important for virus assembly. The lipid pockets are comparable to those recently described in mosquito-borne Zika, Spondweni, Dengue, and Usutu viruses. Our results thus advance the understanding of tick-borne flavivirus architecture and virion-stabilising interactions.

Details

Database :
OAIster
Notes :
application/pdf, English
Publication Type :
Electronic Resource
Accession number :
edsoai.on1349050837
Document Type :
Electronic Resource
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390.v14040792