Intermolecular interactions in a two-layered viral capsid that requires a complex symmetry mismatch

The surface of the bluetongue virus core forms a T=13 quasiequivalent icosahedral protein shell with 260 trimers of a single gene product: VP7 protein. Underneath is a smooth layer, made up of VP3 protein, which appears to guide and nucleate the assembly of VP7 trimers. The contacts between the two shells are extensive but nonspecific, and construction of the T=13 icosahedral shell requires polymorphism in the association of the VP7 subunits, each of which has two domains that contribute to trimer formation. We used structural and relative sequence information to guide an investigation of how such a complex structure is achieved during virus assembly and what residues are required to form a stable capsid. Fifteen single or multiple site-specific substitution mutations were introduced into the helical domain of VP7, which is closely associated with the VP3 layer, and the effects on capsid assembly were analyzed. Our data show that both the position and the nature of single residues are critical for the attachment of VP7 to VP3 and that formation of a stable VP7 lattice is not the automatic consequence of trimer formation.