White spot syndrome virus VP37 interacts with VP28 and VP26

摘要

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is one of the most virulent pathogens affecting penaeid shrimp, causing high mortality in infected populations. Interactions between virus structural proteins are likely to be important for virus assembly. Many steps of the WSSV assembly and maturation pathway remain unclear. In the present study, the interaction between VP37 and envelope or nucleocapsid proteins was characterized. VP37 was expressed in Escherichia coli and confirmed by Western blotting. Pure WSSV virions were subjected to Triton X-100 treatment to separate the envelope and nucleocapsid fractions. Overlay assays showed that VP37 interacted with VP28 and VP26. The interaction of VP37 with VP28 and VP26 was confirmed further by His pull-down and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrographic assays. The binding assay of VP37 with VP28 by ELISA confirmed that the 2 proteins had direct interaction in vivo. This discovery will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms of virion morphogenesis,