Authors : Sujun Zhao, Hongning Wang, Wenqiao Fan, Xin Yang, Anyun Zhang, Bo Zeng and Yi Zhang
Abstract: Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) is an avian coronavirus. The Nucleocapsid (N) protein of IBV (IBV-N) is an important structural and functional protein and plays an essential role throughout the virus life cycle. Some cellular proteins may be involved in these complicated processes, little is known about virus host interactions. In this study, host cell proteins that interact with N protein were sought by screening a chicken lung cDNA library using a yeast two-hybrid system assay. IBV-N was shown to interact specifically with chicken Ubiquitin-Conjugating enzyme 9 (cUBC9) which belongs to the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme family and is an important enzyme in the sumoylation system. Furthermore, the interaction between IBV-N and cUBC9 was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation. The results of mapping the cUBC9 binding region of IBV-N indicated that N151-230 fragment of IBV-N is responsible for the majority of the binding to cUBC9. This virus-host protein interaction may provide insights into the function of IBV-N and facilitate rational targeting of the viral nucleocapsid protein for the development of structure-based vaccines and antiviral compounds.
Sujun Zhao, Hongning Wang, Wenqiao Fan, Xin Yang, Anyun Zhang, Bo Zeng and Yi Zhang, 2012. The Nucleocapsid Protein of Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus Interacts with Chicken Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzyme 9 (cUBC9). Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 2957-2963.