The two zinc fingers in the nucleocapsid domain of the HIV-1 Gag precursor are equivalent for the interaction with the genomic RNA in the cytoplasm, but not for the recruitment of the complexes at the plasma membrane

Abstract

The HIV-1 Gag precursor specifically selects the unspliced viral genomic RNA (gRNA) from the bulk of cellular and spliced viral RNAs via its nucleocapsid (NC) domain and drives gRNA encapsidation at the plasma membrane (PM). To further identify the determinants governing the intracellular trafficking of Gag-gRNA complexes and their accumulation at the PM, we compared, in living and fixed cells, the interactions between gRNA and wild-type (WT) Gag or Gag mutants carrying deletions in NC zinc fingers (ZFs), or a non-myristoylated version of Gag. Our data showed that the deletion of both ZFs simultaneously or the complete NC domain completely abolished intracytoplasmic Gag-gRNA interactions. Deletion of either ZF delayed the delivery of gRNA to the PM but did not prevent Gag-gRNA interactions in the cytoplasm,