# Understanding the Protein: Protein Interactions Required for Virus Assembly

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · 2022 · $555,685

## Abstract

Icosahedral capsid assembly is a highly coordinated process involving sequential addition of multiple proteins,
ultimately leading to an infectious virion of proper size and morphology. The long-term goal for this project is to
achieve a mechanistic understanding of the protein:protein interactions involved in capsid assembly. The
development of new anti-viral drugs is impeded by a lack of understanding of how viral capsid proteins are
programmed to adopt the correct conformations to produce the correct assembly product. Capsid assembly will
be investigated using bacteriophage P22, a model dsDNA virus. In phage P22, herpesvirus and many other
dsDNA viruses, the capsid is formed from a coat protein having the ubiquitous HK97 fold. The initial assembly
product is a procapsid (PC). Scaffolding protein (SP) directs proper assembly of coat protein (CP) to form PCs.
SP also directs the incorporation of the portal protein complex, which is essential for genome encapsidation.
Phage P22 provides an excellent model assembly system because complex in vivo processes are easily
mimicked in vitro. The simple genetics and well-established biochemistry of phage P22 offers significant
advantages as an assembly model over complex mammalian dsDNA viruses. Our central hypothesis is that
specific weak protein:protein interactions regulate the assembly nucleation and elongation reactions
in order to form proper procapsids and virions. In this granting period we will test our central hypothesis
with the following aims.
Aim 1. Define the mechanism of portal protein complex incorporation into PC. We hypothesize that SP
controls portal protein incorporation during PC assembly through interaction with a conserved belt of
hydrophobic residues on the surface of the portal rings. The portal protein is essential to form an infectious
virion for the tailed phages, herpesviruses and adenoviruses. Though characterization of mutants in SP and
portal protein, and the use of ssRNA aptamers specific for portal or SP, we will elucidate the mechanism of
portal incorporation during assembly.
Aim 2. Understand control of capsid morphology. We hypothesize specific CP conformational changes
induced by SP control procapsid and capsid morphology. We will characterize the interaction by single
molecule fluorescence methods. We will investigate how CP controls capsid morphology by characterizing CP
mutants that change the size and shape of PCs.
Aim 3. Understand how scaffolding protein functions in PC assembly. We hypothesize that SPs have
intrinsically disordered segments to allow them to interact with the many protein partners required to assemble
PCs. There is very little high-resolution information about their structures, either in solution or within PCs. We
will use state-of-the-art NMR techniques combined with mutational analysis to characterize the structure of
scaffolding proteins from phages P22 and Sf6.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10438569
- **Project number:** 5R01GM076661-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS
- **Principal Investigator:** CAROLYN M TESCHKE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $555,685
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-04-15 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10438569

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10438569, Understanding the Protein: Protein Interactions Required for Virus Assembly (5R01GM076661-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10438569. Licensed CC0.

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