N-protein of coronavirus critical to transmission: IISER Bhopal

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have shown that proteins from the COVID-19 virus other than the well-known ‘spike protein’ can play a critical role in the infectivity of the virus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has an RNA genome, surrounded by a sphereshaped structure. This structure comprises various types of proteins, with one of them being the ‘spike protein’ that gives the virus its characteristic spiked look or ‘crown’. Since the virus is highly infectious, most studies do not use the live virus but use a similar protein capsule made up of spike that has been filled with another viral core, in a process called pseudotyping. The researchers believe that the N-protein promotes the incorporation of the spike protein into viral particles, thereby increasing the chances for each viral particle to bind to the target cell. This discovery opens up an exciting host of questions for related research in this area. The researchers found that pseudovirus produced with the nucleocapsid (N) protein had higher infectivity than those containing other proteins.