The duck hepatitis B virus polymerase and core proteins accumulate in different patterns from their common mRNA

Hepadnaviral reverse transcription occurs in capsids in which the core (C) protein surrounds the reverse transcriptase (P) and pregenomic RNA (pgRNA). We analyzed the accumulation patterns of duck hepatitis B virus P, C, and pgRNA in transfected LMH cells, infected primary duck hepatocytes (PDH), and infected duck liver. In all three systems, P accumulated over time in a different pattern compared with C, despite translation of both proteins from the pgRNA. Although the accumulation patterns of the proteins varied between the systems, in each case P became detectable at the same time or earlier than C and the ratio of P relative to C dropped with time. These accumulation patterns were consistent with the translation rates and half-lives of P and C. Comparing the translation rates of P and C with the pgRNA level over time revealed that translation of P and C was negatively regulated in LMH cells. These data provide a framework for comparing replication studies performed in LMH cells, PDHs and ducks.