Packaging of RNAs and synthetic polyelectrolytes in viral capsids
RNA viruses are ubiquitous pathogens that possess a relatively simple structure consisting of genomic RNAs packaged into a generally spherical protein shell called capsid. Despite a great deal of work on the structural and molecular biology of viruses the physicochemical mechanisms underlying the in vivo viral life cycles are still elusive. In particular, how viral RNAs (and not non-viral ones or other molecules) get selectively encapsidated is still a mystery. We are currently investigating these issues by studying the in vitro capsid formation in the presence of either RNAs or synthetic polyelectrolytes mimicking RNAs. By using complementary approaches (cryoEM, TR-SAXS, SANS) our end goal is to understand the physical principles of viral assembly. Here, we plan to study the packaging efficiency of a panel of different RNAs and poly(styrene sulfonic acid) polyelectrolytes mixed with capsid proteins of a plant virus, by precisely measuring the mass ratio between proteins and packaged RNAs or polyelectrolytes. The expected results will allow us to test if viral RNAs are more efficiently packaged than non-homologous RNAs and to compare between differently charged polyelectrolytes.
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MARICHAL Laurent; GROS Alice; LEITE RUBIM Rafael; PONCET Laetitia; PORCAR Lionel and TRESSET Guillaume. (2019). Packaging of RNAs and synthetic polyelectrolytes in viral capsids. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.8-03-970
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