Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Generation and Assembly of Virus-Specific Nucleocapsids of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Published on: July 27, 2021
Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus PK-1 is essential for nucleocapsid assembly
Changyong Liang1, Min Li, Xuejuan Dai
1College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, People's Republic of China. cyliang@yzu.edu.cn
Abstract:
PK-1 (Ac10) is a baculovirus-encoded serine/threonine kinase and its function is unclear. Our results showed that a pk-1 knockout AcMNPV failed to produce infectious progeny, while the pk-1 repair virus could rescue this defect. qPCR analysis demonstrated that pk-1 deletion did not affect viral DNA replication. Analysis of the repaired recombinants with truncated pk-1 mutants demonstrated that the catalytic domain of protein kinases of PK-1 was essential to viral infectivity. Moreover, those PK-1 mutants that could rescue the infectious BV production defect exhibited kinase activity in vitro. Therefore, it is suggested that the kinase activity of PK-1 is essential in regulating viral propagation. Electron microscopy revealed that pk-1 deletion affected the formation of normal nucleocapsids. Masses of electron-lucent tubular structures were present in cell transfected with pk-1 knockout bacmid. Therefore, PK-1 appears to phosphorylate some viral or cellular proteins that are essential for DNA packaging to regulate nucleocapsid assembly.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Viral Structure
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Leaky Scanning
Subviral Agents
Coat Assembly and GTPases
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

