Norovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase: A computational study of metal-binding preferences
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Production of Human Norovirus Protruding Domains in E. coli for X-ray Crystallography
Published on: April 19, 2016
Md Munan Shaik1,2, Nicholus Bhattacharjee3, Mikolaj Feliks3
1Division of Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115.
Abstract:
Norovirus (NV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) is essential for replicating the genome of the virus, which makes this enzyme a key target for the development of antiviral agents against NV gastroenteritis. In this work, a complex of NV RdRP bound to manganese ions and an RNA primer-template duplex was investigated using X-ray crystallography and hybrid quantum chemical/molecular mechanical simulations. Experimentally, the complex crystallized in a tetragonal crystal form. The nature of the primer/template duplex binding in the resulting structure indicates that the complex is a closed back-tracked state of the enzyme, in which the 3'-end of the primer occupies the position expected for the post-incorporated nucleotide before translocation. Computationally, it is found that the complex can accept a range of divalent metal cations without marked distortions in the active site structure. The highest binding energy is for copper, followed closely by manganese and iron, and then by zinc, nickel, and cobalt. Proteins 2017; 85:1435-1445. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Related Concept Videos
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
Riboswitches
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
Leaky Scanning
Viruses with RNA Genomes
Inhibitors Of Virion Release

