Visualizing the replication cycle of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus expressing fluorescent protein-tagged Gc glycoprotein

Shi, X. , van Mierlo, J.T., French, A. and Elliott, R.M. (2010) Visualizing the replication cycle of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus expressing fluorescent protein-tagged Gc glycoprotein. Journal of Virology, 84(17), pp. 8460-8469. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.00902-10)

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Abstract

The virion glycoproteins Gn and Gc of Bunyamwera virus (BUNV), the prototype of the <i>Bunyaviridae</i> family and also of the <i>Orthobunyavirus</i> genus, are encoded by the medium (M) RNA genome segment and are involved in both viral attachment and entry. After their synthesis Gn and Gc form a heterodimer in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transit to the Golgi compartment for virus assembly. The N-terminal half of the Gc ectodomain was previously shown to be dispensable for virus replication in cell culture (X. Shi, J. Goli, G. Clark, K. Brauburger, and R. M. Elliott, J. Gen. Virol. 90:2483-2492, 2009.). In this study, the coding sequence for a fluorescent protein, either enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) or mCherry fluorescent protein, was fused to the N terminus of truncated Gc, and two recombinant BUNVs (rBUNGc-eGFP and rBUNGc-mCherry) were rescued by reverse genetics. The recombinant viruses showed bright autofluorescence under UV light and were competent for replication in various mammalian cell lines. rBUNGc-mCherry was completely stable over 10 passages, whereas internal, in-frame deletions occurred in the chimeric Gc-eGFP protein of rBUNGc-eGFP, resulting in loss of fluorescence between passages 5 and 7. Autofluorescence of the recombinant viruses allowed visualization of different stages of the infection cycle, including virus attachment to the cell surface, budding of virus particles in Golgi membranes, and virus-induced morphological changes to the Golgi compartment at later stages of infection. The fluorescent protein-tagged viruses will be valuable reagents for live-cell imaging studies to investigate virus entry, budding, and morphogenesis in real time.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Elliott, Professor Richard and Shi, Dr Xiaohong
Authors: Shi, X., van Mierlo, J.T., French, A., and Elliott, R.M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
Journal Name:Journal of Virology
ISSN:0022-538X
ISSN (Online):1098-5514

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