Ensemble structure of the modular and flexible full-length vesicular stomatitis virus phosphoprotein

Abstract

The phosphoprotein (P) is an essential component of the viral replication machinery of non-segmented negative-strand RNA viruses, connecting the viral polymerase to its nucleoprotein-RNA template and acting as a chaperone of the nucleoprotein by preventing nonspecific encapsidation of cellular RNAs. The phosphoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) forms homodimers and possesses a modular organization comprising two stable, well-structured domains concatenated with two intrinsically disordered regions. Here, we used a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering to depict VSV P as an ensemble of continuously exchanging conformers that captures the dynamic character of this protein. We discuss the implications of the dynamics and the large conformational space sampled by VSV P in the assembly and functioning of the viral transcription/replication machinery.