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Generation and Assembly of Virus-Specific Nucleocapsids of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Published on: July 27, 2021
Generation and structural analysis of reactive empty particles derived from an icosahedral virus
Wendy F Ochoa1, Anju Chatterji, Tianwei Lin
1Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Integrative Molecular Biosciences, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Abstract:
Chemical and genetic modifications on the surface of viral protein cages confer unique properties to the virus particles with potential nano and biotechnological applications. The enclosed space in the interior of the virus particles further increases its versatility as a nanomaterial. In this paper, we report a simple method to generate a high yield of stable cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) empty capsids from their native nucleoprotein counterparts by removing the encapsidated viral genome without compromising the integrity of the protein coat. Biochemical and structural comparison of artificially generated empty particles did not reveal any distinguishable differences from CPMV particles containing viral RNA. Preliminary results on the use of artificially produced empty CPMV capsids as a carrier capsule are described.
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