Modelling the interaction between Infectious Bursal Disease Virus VP3 polypeptide and dsRNA: identification of key residues for ribonucleoprotein assembly and virus replication

Abstract

Birnaviruses are ancient evolutionary intermediates between double- and single-stranded RNA viruses that package their dsRNA genomes as filamentous ribonucleoproteins (RNP). The major RNP protein component is VP3, a homodimeric polypeptide that functionally mimics nucleoproteins from single stranded RNA viruses. An experimentally-tested VP3-dsRNA interaction model underlying the assembly of Birnavirus RNPs. Our report provides new and relevant clues to better understanding the molecular biology of this unique virus family.