Sequential transcription of the genes of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Increasing exposure of vesicular stomatitis virus particles to ultraviolet radiation caused differential inhibition of the synthesis in vitro of individual mRNA species which code for the viral structural proteins L, G, M, NS, and N.     

Recombinant lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus expressing vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein

A recombinant S segment RNA (Sr) of the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) where the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSVG) was substituted for the glycoprotein of LCMV (LCMV-GP) was produced intracellularly from cDNA under the control of a polymerase I promoter. Coexpression of the LCMV proteins NP and L allowed expression of VSVG from Sr. Infection of transfected cells with WT LCMV (LCMVwt) resulted in reassortment of the L segment of LCMVwt with the Sr at low frequency. Isolation of recombinant LCMV (rLCMV) expressing VSVG (rLCMV/VSVG) was achieved by selection against LCMVwt by using a cell line deficient in the cellular protease S1P. This approach was based on the finding that processing of LCMV-GP by S1P was required for virus infectivity. Characterization of protein and RNA expression of rLCMV/VSVG in infected cells confirmed the expected virus genome organization. rLCMV/VSVG caused syncytium formation in cultured cells and grew to approximately 100-fold lower titers than WT virus but, like the parent virus, it persisted in neonatally infected mice without clinical signs of disease.     

Transport of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein in a cell-free extract.

We describe a cell-free system in which the membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus is rapidly and efficiently transported to membranes of the Golgi complex by a process resembling intracellular protein transport. Transport in vitro is energy-dependent and is accompanied by terminal glycosylation of the membrane glycoprotein (dependent upon UDP-GlcNAc and resulting in resistance to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H).     

Punctuated equilibrium and positive Darwinian evolution in vesicular stomatitis virus.

RNA viruses possess the potential for rapid evolution and serve as excellent models to test evolutionary theory. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the P gene for a larger number of diverse natural isolates of vesicular stomatitis virus reveals no evidence for a molecular clock but instead shows a stepwise evolutionary pattern unlike that ever seen before. Each step out from the tree's ancestral root to terminal branch tips correlates not with time of virus isolation but with a south-to-north geographical progression from Panama to the United States. The grossly unequal rates of change within this single species imply an underlying mechanism at odds with the prevailing notion that neutral changes are the dominating feature of molecular evolution. This is also a demonstration of punctuated equilibrium at the molecular level.     

Synthesis and glycosylation in vitro of glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Coupling of ribonucleoprotein particles from L cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus to a pre-incubated ribosomal system obtained from uninfected HeLa cells allowed synthesis of two proteins. G1 (molecular weight 63,000) and G2 (molecular weight 67,000), and all other proteins of vesicular stomatitis virus except the spike protein G (molecular weight 69,000). Analyses of the tryptic peptides showed that G1, G2, and G had identical peptide sequences. The synthesis of G2 required the presence of membranes; only G1 was synthesized in the absence of any membranes. G2 but not G1 was shown to be a glycoprotein by affinity chromatography on a concanavalin A-Sepharose column. Removal of sialic acid residues from G by neuraminidase resulted in a product having an identical mobility to G2. Digestion of G2 or G with a mixture of neuraminidase (EC 3.2.1.18), beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30), however, produced a protein of molecular weight 65,000. These data suggest that G2 is the desialated G and is formed by glycosylation of G1, which is the unglycosylated polypeptide backbone of G.     

Kernel energy method applied to vesicular stomatitis virus nucleoprotein

The kernel energy method (KEM) is applied to the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) nucleoprotein (PDB ID code 2QVJ). The calculations employ atomic coordinates from the crystal structure at 2.8-Å resolution, except for the hydrogen atoms, whose positions were modeled by using the computer program HYPERCHEM. The calculated KEM ab initio limited basis Hartree-Fock energy for the full 33,175 atom molecule (including hydrogen atoms) is obtained. In the KEM, a full biological molecule is represented by smaller “kernels” of atoms, greatly simplifying the calculations. Collections of kernels are well suited for parallel computation. VSV consists of five similar chains, and we obtain the energy of each chain. Interchain hydrogen bonds contribute to the interaction energy between the chains. These hydrogen bond energies are calculated in Hartree-Fock (HF) and Møller-Plesset perturbation theory to second order (MP2) approximations by using 6–31G** basis orbitals. The correlation energy, included in MP2, is a significant factor in the interchain hydrogen bond energies.     

Regulated expression of Sindbis and vesicular stomatitis virus glycoproteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

cDNAs encoding either the structural proteins (capsid and glycoproteins E1 and E2) of Sindbis virus or the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) were fused to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae galactokinase gene (GAL1) promoter and inserted into a yeast shuttle vector. After addition of galactose to yeast transformed with this vector, 2.5-3% of total yeast protein synthesis was detected as virus proteins by specific anti-virus protein antibodies. In cells containing the Sindbis virus structural genes, the virus capsid protein was effectively released from the nascent polypeptide and two endoglycosidase H-sensitive glycoproteins were produced. One of these was identical in its gel mobility to E1 and the other appeared to be p62, a precursor to E2. A low level of E1 protein was detected on the cell's surface membranes. A single molecular weight species of glycosylated VSV glycoprotein was produced and half of the total protein could be detected at the surface membranes of yeast. Addition of long mannose chains and acylation of the virus proteins with fatty acids were not observed. Formation of virus proteins was also examined in yeast secretory mutants; one of these (sec53) failed to glycosylate the virus proteins.