Abstract
Many viruses package their genomes concomitant with assembly. Here, we show that this reaction can be described by three coefficients: association of capsid protein (CP) to nucleic acid (NA), KNA; CP-CP interaction, ω; and α, proportional to the work required to package NA. The value of α can vary as NA is packaged. A phase diagram of average lnα versus lnω identifies conditions where assembly is likely to fail or succeed. NA morphology can favor (lnα > 0) or impede (lnα < 0) assembly. As lnω becomes larger, capsids become more stable and assembly becomes more cooperative. Where (lnα + lnω) < 0, the CP is unable to contain the NA, so that assembly results in aberrant particles. This phase diagram is consistent with quantitative studies of cowpea chlorotic mottle virus, hepatitis B virus, and simian virus 40 assembling on ssRNA and dsDNA substrates. Thus, the formalism we develop is suitable for describing and predicting behavior of experimental studies of CP assembly on NA.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1595-1604 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Biophysical Journal |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01-AI077688 to A.Z.
Funding
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01-AI077688 to A.Z.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | R01AI077688 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics