Author(s)
Content
Video Abstract (AI generated) (01:48) Paper Preprint Supplementary data Supplementary Movie S1 Supplementary Movie S2 Supplementary Movie S3 Supplementary Movie S4 Supplementary Movie S5Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the COVID19 pandemic, is a highly pathogenic β-coronavirus. As other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is enveloped, replicates in the cytoplasm and assembles at intracellular membranes. Here, we structurally characterize the viral replication compartment and report critical insights into the budding mechanism of the virus, and the structure of extracellular virions close to their native state by in situ cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging. We directly visualized RNA filaments inside the double membrane vesicles, compartments associated with viral replication. The RNA filaments show a diameter consistent with double-stranded RNA and frequent branching likely representing RNA secondary structures. We found that assembled S trimers in lumenal cisternae do not alone induce membrane bending but laterally reorganize on the envelope during virion assembly. The viral ribonucleoprotein complexes (vRNPs) are accumulated at the curved membrane characteristic for budding sites suggesting that vRNP recruitment is enhanced by membrane curvature. Subtomogram averaging shows that vRNPs are distinct cylindrical assemblies. We propose that the genome is packaged around multiple separate vRNP complexes, thereby allowing incorporation of the unusually large coronavirus genome into the virion while maintaining high steric flexibility between the vRNPs. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
More Projects
Loren Frank
13 views • 2 years ago
Global Immunotalks
390 views • 3 years ago
Laurel Yohe
2 views • 2 years ago
Global Immunotalks
130 views • 3 years ago
Jignesh H. Parmar
0 views • 2 years ago
Winston A. Haynes
0 views • 2 years ago
Noam Mazor
0 views • 2 years ago
Global Immunotalks
182 views • 3 years ago
Cem Yuksel
345 views • 2 years ago
Oscar Gonzalez-Recio
3 views • 2 years ago
Please pick a style:
Mirko Cortese. (2021, Nov 5).SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography[Video]. Scitok. https://scitok.com/project/p/e916d9bb
Klein Steffen. "SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography" Scitok, uploaded by Cortese Mirko, 5 Nov, 2021, https://scitok.com/project/pe916d9bb
Mirko Cortese. "SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography" Scitok. (Nov 5, 2021). https://scitok.com/project/p/e916d9bb
Mirko Cortese (Nov 5, 2021). SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography Scitok. https://scitok.com/project/p/e916d9bb
Mirko Cortese. SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography[video]. 2021 Nov 5. https://scitok.com/project/p/e916d9bb
@online{al2006link, title={ SARS-CoV-2 structure and replication characterized by in situ cryo-electron tomography }, author={ Cortese, Mirko }, organization={Scitok}, month={ Nov }, day={ 5 }, year={ 2021 }, url = {https://scitok.com/project/p/e916d9bb}, }