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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Generation and Assembly of Virus-Specific Nucleocapsids of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Published on: July 27, 2021
Structures of virus-like capsids formed by the Drosophila neuronal Arc proteins
Simon Erlendsson1, Dustin R Morado1, Harrison B Cullen2
1Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract:
Arc, a neuronal gene that is critical for synaptic plasticity, originated through the domestication of retrotransposon Gag genes and mediates intercellular messenger RNA transfer. We report high-resolution structures of retrovirus-like capsids formed by Drosophila dArc1 and dArc2 that have surface spikes and putative internal RNA-binding domains. These data demonstrate that virus-like capsid-forming properties of Arc are evolutionarily conserved and provide a structural basis for understanding their function in intercellular communication.
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