Faculty of Science
Microbiology and Immunology

Zika virus produces two isoforms of the NS2A protein that play mutually exclusive roles in viral replication and virion assembly

A visual representation of the structure and function of the two NS2A proteins

Publication Date

Publication Journal

PLOS Pathogens

Author(s)

Breanna N. Landry, Olivia J. Klann, Hannah C.H. Hauch, Cheyanne L. Bemis, Jonathan E. Owen, Jayden Harris, Trisha R. Barnard, Christopher J. Neufeldt, and Selena M. Sagan

Orthoflaviviruses including Zika virus and Dengue virus are responsible for devastating disease outbreaks worldwide. These viruses rely on nonstructural protein 2A (NS2A) to infect; however, this protein is poorly characterized. In this paper, the authors studied NS2A in the context of Zika virus infection and found that two structurally distinct versions of the protein are present. They further discovered that while the full-length form of the protein is required for viral replication, the truncated form is critical for packaging of genetic material and production of infectious particles. This work provides new and potentially actionable insight into the role of NS2A in the orthoflavivirus lifecycle.

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Microbiology and Immunology

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