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Asymmetric cryo-EM reconstruction of phage MS2 reveals genome structure in situ.

Roman I KoningJosue Gomez-BlancoInara AkopjanaJavier VargasAndris KazaksKaspars TarsJosé María CarazoAbraham J Koster
Published in: Nature communications (2016)
In single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses, virus capsid assembly and genome packaging are intertwined processes. Using cryo-electron microscopy and single particle analysis we determined the asymmetric virion structure of bacteriophage MS2, which includes 178 copies of the coat protein, a single copy of the A-protein and the RNA genome. This reveals that in situ, the viral RNA genome can adopt a defined conformation. The RNA forms a branched network of stem-loops that almost all allocate near the capsid inner surface, while predominantly binding to coat protein dimers that are located in one-half of the capsid. This suggests that genomic RNA is highly involved in genome packaging and virion assembly.
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