Parvoviruses are unique among all known organisms in having DNA genomes which are both single-stranded and linear. Both 5'and 3'ends of the genome are palindromic and can fold into hairpin structures that give rise to the two viral replication origins in replicative-form (RF) DNA. In the homotelomeric parvoviruses these hairpins are part of a terminal repeat, whereas for the heterotelomeric subgroup, the termini are typically unrelated to one another in either sequence or structure. The long term goal of this research program is to understand, at the molecular level, how heterotelomeric parvoviruses inveigle their host cell into replicating and packaging such apparently alien molecules. The major model we will continue to explore is the autonomous parvovirus Minute Virus of Mice (MVM), a genetically tractable virus that grows in cell culture. We will use what we learn from MVM to explore the function of the initiator protein of the newly-discovered pathogenic human bocavirus HBoV, for which there is currently no cell culture system. We propose to build on our previous research on MVM DNA replication initiation to study the structure and function of the terminal hairpins, extending this to the precise sequence requirements for NS1 binding, melting and nicking at MVM OriL. We will explore the functional significance of NS1 binding sites embedded in the MVM genome, and ask whether a similar situation pertains for HBoV. We will initiate studies on how the virus activates cellular DNA damage responses and whether the unique pseudochromatin that the virus elaborates is part of its strategy to evade, or employ, these elements of innate host defense. Genetic and biochemical approaches will be pursued to identify the molecular motor that drives genome packaging, and to explore the function(s) of the teminal hairpins in viral DNA replication and packaging.

Public Health Relevance

This research program aims to develop an understanding of the mechanisms underlying parvoviral DNA replication and packaging, and further our knowledge of parvoviruses as pathogens. These are also necessary prerequisites for the use of these viruses as vaccine vectors against infectious diseases and cancer. The newly discovered human parvovirus, HBoV, appears to be one of the most prevalent infections of childhood, and understanding its natural history and mode of replication will become of increasing importance as we discover more about its interaction with the human population. In the present renewal application, therefore, we propose to parlay what we know about parvoviral genome structure and DNA replication from the murine system into a study of similar processes that regulate replication of the human virus.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
3R37AI026109-22S1
Application #
8070912
Study Section
Virology - A Study Section (VIRA)
Program Officer
Park, Eun-Chung
Project Start
2010-06-01
Project End
2010-09-30
Budget Start
2010-06-01
Budget End
2010-09-30
Support Year
22
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$6,620
Indirect Cost
Name
Yale University
Department
Pathology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Tewary, Sunil K; Liang, Lingfei; Lin, Zihan et al. (2015) Structures of minute virus of mice replication initiator protein N-terminal domain: Insights into DNA nicking and origin binding. Virology 476:61-71
Mihaylov, Ivailo S; Cotmore, Susan F; Tattersall, Peter (2014) Complementation for an essential ancillary non-structural protein function across parvovirus genera. Virology 468-470:226-37
Cotmore, Susan F; Agbandje-McKenna, Mavis; Chiorini, John A et al. (2014) The family Parvoviridae. Arch Virol 159:1239-47
Li, Lei; Cotmore, Susan F; Tattersall, Peter (2013) Parvoviral left-end hairpin ears are essential during infection for establishing a functional intranuclear transcription template and for efficient progeny genome encapsidation. J Virol 87:10501-14
Cotmore, Susan F; Tattersall, Peter (2013) Parvovirus diversity and DNA damage responses. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 5:
Li, Lei; Cotmore, Susan F; Tattersall, Peter (2012) Maintenance of the flip sequence orientation of the ears in the parvoviral left-end hairpin is a nonessential consequence of the critical asymmetry in the hairpin stem. J Virol 86:12187-97
Cotmore, Susan F; Tattersall, Peter (2012) Mutations at the base of the icosahedral five-fold cylinders of minute virus of mice induce 3'-to-5' genome uncoating and critically impair entry functions. J Virol 86:69-80
Ruiz, Zandra; Mihaylov, Ivailo S; Cotmore, Susan F et al. (2011) Recruitment of DNA replication and damage response proteins to viral replication centers during infection with NS2 mutants of Minute Virus of Mice (MVM). Virology 410:375-84
Plevka, Pavel; Hafenstein, Susan; Li, Lei et al. (2011) Structure of a packaging-defective mutant of minute virus of mice indicates that the genome is packaged via a pore at a 5-fold axis. J Virol 85:4822-7
Cotmore, Susan F; Hafenstein, Susan; Tattersall, Peter (2010) Depletion of virion-associated divalent cations induces parvovirus minute virus of mice to eject its genome in a 3'-to-5' direction from an otherwise intact viral particle. J Virol 84:1945-56

Showing the most recent 10 out of 12 publications