Analysis of viral protein-protein interactions is an essential step to uncover the viral protein functions and the molecular mechanism for the assembly of a viral protein complex. We employed a mammalian two-hybrid system to screen all the viral proteins of SARS-CoV-2 for the protein-protein interactions. Our study detected 48 interactions, 14 of which were firstly reported here. Unlike Nsp1 of SARS-CoV, Nsp1 of SARS-CoV-2 has the most interacting partners among all the viral proteins and likely functions as a hub for the viral proteins. Five self-interactions were confirmed, and five interactions, Nsp1/Nsp3.1, Nsp3.1/N, Nsp3.2/Nsp12, Nsp10/Nsp14, and Nsp10/Nsp16, were determined to be positive bidirectionally. Using the replicon reporter system of SARS-CoV-2, we screened all viral proteins for their impacts on the viral replication and revealed Nsp3.1, the N-terminus of Nsp3, significantly inhibited the replicon reporter gene expression. We found Nsp3 interacted with N through its acidic region at N-terminus, while N interacted with Nsp3 through its NTD, which is rich in the basic amino acids. Furthermore, using purified truncated N and Nsp3 proteins, we determined the direct interactions between Nsp3 and N protein. In summary, our findings provided a basis for understanding the functions of coronavirus proteins and supported the potential of interactions as the target for antiviral drug development.
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This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
The conserved domains of Nsp3 of SARS-CoV-2. The diagram of Nsp3 with indicated conserved domains was produced according to the description of YP_009725299.1 of CDD of NCBI. The separation sites aa 749 for Nsp3.1 and aa 1462 for Nsp3.2 were labeled in the diagram.
Acid-base analysis for the viral proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2. Viral proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2 were listed in the order of PI values. Note that N is the most basic protein and Nsp3.1 is among the most acidic proteins of SARS-CoV-2.
The plasmid map of the replicon of SARS-CoV-2. The cDNA of SARS-CoV-2 genome was inserted in the BAC vector. Its expression was driven by the human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter upstream of its sequence. The bovine growth hormone polyadenylation (BGH) was employed to terminate the transcription and was removed by a hepatitis delta virus ribozyme (RZ) to generate the authentic 3’ terminal sequence of SARS-CoV-2. The S gene was replaced with firefly luciferase to eliminate the generation of live virus and to quantify the replication of replicon.
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Posted 19 Mar, 2021
On 11 Apr, 2021
Received 11 Apr, 2021
Received 11 Apr, 2021
Received 25 Mar, 2021
Received 25 Mar, 2021
On 21 Mar, 2021
On 20 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
Invitations sent on 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
Posted 19 Mar, 2021
On 11 Apr, 2021
Received 11 Apr, 2021
Received 11 Apr, 2021
Received 25 Mar, 2021
Received 25 Mar, 2021
On 21 Mar, 2021
On 20 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
Invitations sent on 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
On 16 Mar, 2021
Analysis of viral protein-protein interactions is an essential step to uncover the viral protein functions and the molecular mechanism for the assembly of a viral protein complex. We employed a mammalian two-hybrid system to screen all the viral proteins of SARS-CoV-2 for the protein-protein interactions. Our study detected 48 interactions, 14 of which were firstly reported here. Unlike Nsp1 of SARS-CoV, Nsp1 of SARS-CoV-2 has the most interacting partners among all the viral proteins and likely functions as a hub for the viral proteins. Five self-interactions were confirmed, and five interactions, Nsp1/Nsp3.1, Nsp3.1/N, Nsp3.2/Nsp12, Nsp10/Nsp14, and Nsp10/Nsp16, were determined to be positive bidirectionally. Using the replicon reporter system of SARS-CoV-2, we screened all viral proteins for their impacts on the viral replication and revealed Nsp3.1, the N-terminus of Nsp3, significantly inhibited the replicon reporter gene expression. We found Nsp3 interacted with N through its acidic region at N-terminus, while N interacted with Nsp3 through its NTD, which is rich in the basic amino acids. Furthermore, using purified truncated N and Nsp3 proteins, we determined the direct interactions between Nsp3 and N protein. In summary, our findings provided a basis for understanding the functions of coronavirus proteins and supported the potential of interactions as the target for antiviral drug development.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
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