Molecular studies of the replication mechanisms of coronavirus

• Main Author: Wang, Jibin
• Other Authors: James P. Tam
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/6574
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Coronavirus M protein is an essential component of virions and plays pivotal roles in virion assembly, budding and maturation. The M protein is integrated into the viral envelope with three transmembrane domains flanked by a short amino-terminal ectodomain and a large carboxy-terminal endodomain. To understand the cellular factors that may be involved in virion assembly, budding and maturation processes, the M protein from coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was used as a bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen, resulting in the identification of -Actin as a potentially interacting partner. This interaction was subsequent confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence in mammalian cells, and mutation of amino acids A159 and K160 in the M protein abolished the interaction.