Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Jenna, I am a second year student majoring in Biology on a pre-med track.

Zika virus NS3 drives the assembly of a viroplasm-like structure

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, caused global concern in 2015–2016 due to its link to fetal brain defects. With no vaccine available, understanding its replication is critical. ZIKV's genome is a positive-sense single-strand RNA. That encodes 10 proteins: 3 structural and 7 nonstructural. Upon infection, ZIKV forms a replication organelle (viroplasm) by remodeling the host cell’s endoplasmic reticulum, though the proteins responsible remain unknown.
This study identifies non-structural protein 3 (NS3) as sufficient to drive viroplasm-like structure (VLS) formation in human cells. The VLS mimics the native viroplasm, assembling near centrosomes, deforming the nuclear membrane, and recruiting the ER, Golgi, and dsRNA. It also associates with microtubules. Our results show that the helicase domain, not the protease domain, is essential for VLS assembly and dsRNA recruitment.
By revealing NS3’s role in ZIKV viroplasm formation, this research enhances understanding of ZIKV replication and may provide insights into other flaviviruses.

Keywords: viroplasm, zika, virus