Cations in human rhinoviruses
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Updated: Nov 3, 2026

Production of Human Norovirus Protruding Domains in E. coli for X-ray Crystallography
Published on: April 19, 2016
R Zhao1, A T Hadfield, M J Kremer
1Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-1392, USA.
Abstract:
All known crystal structures of rhinoviruses have some uninterpreted electron density on their fivefold axes at a distance of about 152 +/- 3 A from the viral center. This density had been assumed to be a Ca2+ ion, based on its shape, height, and the presence of Ca2+ ions in the crystallization solutions. Difference electron density maps between EGTA-soaked crystals of human rhinovirus 14 (HRV14), as well as HRV16, and their corresponding native structures show that this density is an EGTA-chelatable ion. Analysis of the coordination geometry indicates that the ions in HRV3, HRV14, and HRV1A could be Ca2+ and the ion in HRV16 might be Zn2+. These cations may play a role in regulation of rhinovirus stability, although the loss of the ion itself does not seem sufficient to lead to viral disassembly.
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