Structure of the full-length HCV IRES in solution

The 5'-untranslated region of the hepatitis C virus genome contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) that initiates cap-independent translation of the viral RNA. Until now, the structural characterization of the entire (IRES) remained limited to cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions of the (IRES) bound to different cellular partners. Here we report an atomic model of free full-length hepatitis C virus (IRES) refined by selection against small-angle X-ray scattering data that incorporates the known structures of different fragments. We found that an ensemble of conformers reproduces small-angle X-ray scattering data better than a single structure suggesting in combination with molecular dynamics simulations that the hepatitis C virus (IRES) is an articulated molecule made of rigid parts that move relative to each other. Principal component analysis on an ensemble of physically accessible conformers of hepatitis C virus (IRES) revealed dominant collective motions in the molecule, which may underlie the conformational changes occurring in the (IRES) molecule upon formation of the initiation complex.