The Hepatitis E Virus Capsid C-Terminal Region Is Essential for the Viral Life Cycle: Implication for Viral Genome Encapsidation and Particle Stabilization

Although the C-terminal 52 amino acids (C52aa) of hepatitis E virus (HEV) capsid are not essential for morphology, the C52aa-encoding region is required for replication. Transfection of a C52aa knockdown mutant showed transient growth, and the earliest population included a majority of noninfectious (possibly empty) particles and a minority of infectious particles with C-terminal capsid degradation. Finally, the complete revertant was generated reproducibly. C52aa is essential for the viral life cycle, promoting accurate encapsidation and stabilizing encapsidated particles.