A small nucleosome from a weird virus with a fat genome

Review Multidisciplinary Sciences

Unconventional viral gene expression mechanisms as therapeutic targets

Jessica Sook Yuin Ho et al.

Summary: Viruses have evolved unique strategies for gene expression by altering conventional gene-protein production line steps with dedicated viral enzymes or host factors. Targeting these unique enzymatic activities and host factors can expose vulnerabilities of a virus, providing a paradigm for novel antiviral therapies. Understanding the mechanisms of unconventional gene and protein expression in viruses could guide translational efforts aimed at viral eradication.

NATURE (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

The structure of a virus-encoded nucleosome

Marco Igor Valencia-Sanchez et al.

Summary: The cryo-EM structure of DNA-assembled histone pairs from Marseillevirus, a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus, reveals that they form viral nucleosomes with highly conserved features similar to canonical eukaryotic nucleosomes. Viral histones from Marseillevirus form 'forced' heterodimers that assemble into tetramers, which in turn assemble DNA to form structures virtually identical to canonical eukaryotic nucleosomes.

NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Virus-encoded histone doublets are essential and form nucleosome-like structures

Yang Liu et al.

Summary: Recent studies have challenged the traditional view of nucleosome organization in eukaryotes by identifying minimalist histones in archaea and discovering genes encoding remote homologs of eukaryotic histones in giant viruses. The presence of viral doublet histones, essential for viral infectivity, suggests a specialized function of histones in the biology of these unusual viruses. Cryo-EM structures of viral nucleosome-like particles show similarities to eukaryotic nucleosomes despite limited sequence identity, further expanding the range of organisms that require nucleosomes.

CELL (2021)

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Review Biochemistry & Molecular Biology