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A tail-like assembly at the portal vertex in intact herpes simplex type-1 virions.

ABSTRACT: Herpes viruses are prevalent and well characterized human pathogens. Despite extensive study, much remains to be learned about the structure of the genome packaging and release machinery in the capsids of these large and complex double-stranded DNA viruses. However, such machinery is well characterized in tailed bacteriophage, which share a common evolutionary origin with herpesvirus. In tailed bacteriophage, the genome exits from the virus particle through a portal and is transferred into the host cell by a complex apparatus (i.e. the tail) located at the portal vertex. Here we use electron cryo-tomography of human herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1) virions to reveal a previously unsuspected feature at the portal vertex, which extends across the HSV-1 tegument layer to form a connection between the capsid and the viral membrane. The location of this assembly suggests that it plays a role in genome release into the nucleus and is also important for virion architecture.

SUBMITTER: Schmid MF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3464221 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A tail-like assembly at the portal vertex in intact herpes simplex type-1 virions.

Schmid Michael F MF Hecksel Corey W CW Rochat Ryan H RH Bhella David D Chiu Wah W Rixon Frazer J FJ

PLoS pathogens 20121004 10

Herpes viruses are prevalent and well characterized human pathogens. Despite extensive study, much remains to be learned about the structure of the genome packaging and release machinery in the capsids of these large and complex double-stranded DNA viruses. However, such machinery is well characterized in tailed bacteriophage, which share a common evolutionary origin with herpesvirus. In tailed bacteriophage, the genome exits from the virus particle through a portal and is transferred into the h ...[more]

PMID: 23055933

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Project description: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.

Project description:The packaging of DNA into preformed capsids is a critical step during herpesvirus infection. For herpes simplex virus, this process requires the products of seven viral genes: the terminase proteins pUL15, pUL28, and pUL33; the capsid vertex-specific component (CVSC) proteins pUL17 and pUL25; and the portal proteins pUL6 and pUL32. The pUL6 portal dodecamer is anchored at one vertex of the capsid by interactions with the adjacent triplexes as well as helical density attributed to the pUL17 and pUL25 subunits of the CVSC. To define the roles and structures of the CVSC proteins in virus assembly and DNA packaging, we isolated a number of recombinant viruses expressing pUL25, pUL17, and pUL36 fused with green or red fluorescent proteins as well as viruses with specific deletions in the CVSC genes. Biochemical and structural studies of these mutants demonstrated that (i) four of the helices in the CVSC helix bundle can be attributed to two copies each of pUL36 and pUL25, (ii) pUL17 and pUL6 are required for capsid binding of the terminase complex in the nucleus, (iii) pUL17 is important for determining the site of the first cleavage reaction generating replicated genomes with termini derived from the long-arm component of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genome, (iv) pUL36 serves no direct role in cleavage/packaging, (v) cleavage and stable packaging of the viral genome involve an ordered interaction of the terminase complex and pUL25 with pUL17 at the portal vertex, and (vi) packaging of the viral genome results in a dramatic displacement of the portal.IMPORTANCE Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is the causative agent of several pathologies ranging in severity from the common cold sore to life-threatening encephalitic infection. A critical step during productive HSV-1 infection is the cleavage and packaging of replicated, concatemeric viral DNA into preformed capsids. A key knowledge gap is how the capsid engages the replicated viral genome and the subsequent packaging of a unit-length HSV genome. Here, biochemical and structural studies focused on the unique portal vertex of wild-type HSV and packaging mutants provide insights into the mechanism of HSV genome packaging. The significance of our research is in identifying the portal proteins pUL6 and pUL17 as key viral factors for engaging the terminase complex with the capsid and the subsequent cleavage, packaging, and stable incorporation of the viral genome in the HSV-1 capsid.

Dataset Information

A tail-like assembly at the portal vertex in intact herpes simplex type-1 virions.

Publications

A tail-like assembly at the portal vertex in intact herpes simplex type-1 virions.

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