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| Title | Conserved assembly architecture of the essential herpesvirus packaging accessory factor. |
|---|---|
| Journal, issue, pages | Biorxiv, Year 2026 |
| Publish date | Dec 9, 2025 (structure data deposition date) |
Authors | Elizabeth J Bailey / Swapnil C Devarkar / Renata Szczepaniak / Laura M Meißner / Xinyu Chen / Chunxiang Wu / Sandra K Weller / Yong Xiong / Allison L Didychuk / ![]() |
| PubMed Abstract | To create a new wave of infectious virions, all herpesviruses require an accessory factor of unknown function to package their viral genomes into nascent capsids. Here, we present cryo-EM structures ...To create a new wave of infectious virions, all herpesviruses require an accessory factor of unknown function to package their viral genomes into nascent capsids. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the packaging accessory factor from the α-herpesvirus herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1, UL32) and the β-herpesvirus human cytomegalovirus (HCMV, UL52). Unlike homologs from the γ-herpesviruses, neither UL32 nor UL52 form stable homopentameric rings. UL52 forms incomplete pentameric rings lacking one or two protomers. UL32 does not form stable higher-order species, but stabilization through chemical crosslinking revealed a novel quaternary structure where three pentameric rings assemble into a "tripentamer." Our results reveal that herpesvirus packaging accessory factors adopt distinct oligomeric states but are constrained to pentameric symmetry. Assembly of protomers into a ring creates a positively charged central channel that we show is critical for infectious virus production in HSV-1. Taken together, our study points to a structurally conserved, essential function of packaging accessory factors across the . |
External links | Biorxiv / PubMed:41648366 / PubMed Central |
| Methods | EM (single particle) |
| Resolution | 3.07 - 3.29 Å |
| Structure data | ![]() PDB-9zly: ![]() PDB-9zm2: |
| Chemicals | ![]() ChemComp-ZN: |
| Source |
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Keywords | VIRAL PROTEIN / Herpes simplex virus type 1 / HSV-1 / viral genome packaging / packaging accessory factor / UL32 / Human cytomegalovirus / HCMV / UL52 |
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human alphaherpesvirus 1 strain 17
human betaherpesvirus 5
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