First Atom-level Structure of Packaged Viral Genome Reveals New Properties, Dynamics
Published:23 May2024 Source:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
A computational model of the more than 26 million atoms in a DNA-packed viral capsid expands our understanding of virus structure and DNA dynamics, insights that could provide new research avenues and drug targets, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report in the journal Nature.
For this first look at a complete packaged viral genome, the researchers focused on HK97, a virus that infects bacteria. The Illinois group developed a multiresolution approach to DNA simulation, looking at the problem at multiple levels of resolution and time length and putting all the information together to get a more complete picture of the process. Having previously used and validated it in experiments involving DNA origami, they now applied the multiresolution approach to HK97. The result was the first atom-level look at the viral DNA packaging process and the structural properties and fluctuations when the DNA is fully contained in the capsid.
They found that the DNA formed switchback loops as it was pushed into the capsid, an important finding as it is similar to how DNA is organized in eukaryotic cells. They also found that the DNA organized itself into domains conforming to the topology of the capsid. The process resulted in slightly different configurations of loops and topologies of DNA in each particle simulated.