Interaction of Sindbis virus glycoproteins during morphogenesis

In cells infected with the Sindbis temperature-sensitive mutants ts-23 and ts-10 (complementation group D), which contain a defect in the envelope glycoprotein E1, the precursor polypeptide PE2 is not cleaved to the envelope glycoprotein E2 at the nonpermissive temperature. This defect is phenotypically identical to the defect observed in the complementation group E mutant, ts-20. The lesion in ts-23 is reversible upon shift to permissive temperature, whereas that of ts-10 is not. Antiserum against whole virus, E1, or E2 also prevents the cleavage of PE2 in cells infected with wild-type Sindbis virus. Because the cleavage of PE2 is inhibited by the lesion in mutants that are genotypically distinct and by anti-E1 or -E2 serum, it appears that PE2 and E1 exist as a complex in the membrane of the infected cell.