Unraveling the structure of viral replication complexes at super-resolution

Olga Linnik, Johannes Liesche, Jens Tilsner, Karl J. Oparka

31 Citations (Scopus)
1307 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

During infection, many RNA viruses produce characteristic inclusion bodies that contain both viral and host components. These structures were first described over a century ago and originally termed "X-bodies," as their function was not immediately appreciated. Whilst some inclusion bodies may represent cytopathic by-products of viral protein over-accumulation, X-bodies have emerged as virus "factories," quasi-organelles that coordinate diverse viral infection processes such as replication, protein expression, evasion of host defenses, virion assembly, and intercellular transport. Accordingly, they are now generally referred to as viral replication complexes (VRCs). We previously used confocal fluorescence microscopy to unravel the complex structure of X-bodies produced by Potato virus X (PVX). Here we used 3D-structured illumination (3D-SIM) super-resolution microscopy to map the PVX X-body at a finer scale. We identify a previously unrecognized membrane structure induced by the PVX "triple gene block" (TGB) proteins, providing new insights into the complex interplay between virus and host within the X-body.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6
JournalFrontiers in Plant Science
Volume4
Number of pages13
ISSN1664-462X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Jan 2013

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