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Review
. 2013 Mar 26;5(4):1023-41.
doi: 10.3390/v5041023.

The foamy virus Gag proteins: what makes them different?

Affiliations
Review

The foamy virus Gag proteins: what makes them different?

Erik Müllers. Viruses. .

Abstract

Gag proteins play an important role in many stages of the retroviral replication cycle. They orchestrate viral assembly, interact with numerous host cell proteins, engage in regulation of viral gene expression, and provide the main driving force for virus intracellular trafficking and budding. Foamy Viruses (FV), also known as spumaviruses, display a number of unique features among retroviruses. Many of these features can be attributed to their Gag proteins. FV Gag proteins lack characteristic orthoretroviral domains like membrane-binding domains (M domains), the major homology region (MHR), and the hallmark Cys-His motifs. In contrast, they contain several distinct domains such as the essential Gag-Env interaction domain and the glycine and arginine rich boxes (GR boxes). Furthermore, FV Gag only undergoes limited maturation and follows an unusual pathway for nuclear translocation. This review summarizes the known FV Gag domains and motifs and their functions. In particular, it provides an overview of the unique structural and functional properties that distinguish FV Gag proteins from orthoretroviral Gag proteins.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic Representation of the Prototype Foamy Virus (PFV) Gag Precursor Protein [adapted from 22]. Numbers indicate the amino acid position in PFV Gag. The primary cleavage site is indicated by its amino acid position (621). Secondary cleavage sites are indicated by dotted lines and their amino acid position. CC1 – CC4, predicted coiled-coil motifs 1–4; CTRS, cytoplasmic targeting and retention signal; NES, nuclear export signal; L, late assembly domain; P, Pro-Pro-Pro-Ile motif (PPPI motif); A, assembly domain; GRI–III, glycine-arginine boxes I–III; CBS, chromatin-binding site; MA, matrix domain; CA, capsid domain; NC, nucleocapsid domain.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sequence Alignment of the C-terminal Region of Different FV Species’ Gag. Sequences were obtained from the NCBI GenBank database: prototype, prototype foamy virus (NC_001736); simian, simian foamy virus of chimpanzees (NC_001364); equine, equine foamy virus (NC_002201); feline, feline foamy virus (NC_001871); bovine, bovine foamy virus (NC_001831). Sequences were aligned using MacVector (MacVector) software and a Gonnet matrix. Sequence identities are shaded dark. Sequence similarities are shaded light. Numbers indicate amino acid position in PFV Gag. The boxed amino acids indicate the PFV Gag glycine and arginine rich boxes (GR boxes) I–III as designated by Schliephake et al. [61].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic Representation of the C-terminal Domain of PFV Gag. (A) Domain structure of the PFV Gag C terminus as previously designated. (B) Our model of the PFV Gag C terminus, integrating the recent available data. Numbers indicate the amino acid position in PFV Gag. The primary cleavage site is indicated by its amino acid position (621). CC4, predicted coiled-coil motif 4; A, assembly domain; GRI–III, glycine-arginine-rich boxes I–III; NLS, nuclear localization signal; CBS, chromatin-binding site; I domain, interaction domain. The shaded region indicates the glycine and arginine-rich C terminus required for RNA packaging.

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