RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 3Dpol is a key enzyme for the replication of picornaviruses. The viral genome is translated into a single polyprotein that is subsequently proteolytically processed into matured products. The 3Dpol enzyme arises from a stable 3CD precursor that has high proteolytic activity but no polymerase activity. Upon cleavage of the precursor the newly established N-terminus of 3Dpol is liberated and inserts itself into a pocket on the surface of the 3Dpol enzyme. The essential residue for this mechanism is the very first glycine that is conserved among almost all picornaviruses. However, kobuviruses and siciniviruses have a serine residue instead. Intrigued by this anomaly we sought to solve the crystal structure of these 3Dpol enzymes. The structures revealed a unique fold of the 3Dpol N-termini but the very first serine residues were inserted into a charged pocket in a similar manner as the glycine residue in other picornaviruses. These structures revealed a common underlying mechanism of 3Dpol activation that lies in activation of the α10 helix containing a key catalytical residue Asp238 that forms a hydrogen bond with the 2' hydroxyl group of the incoming NTP nucleotide.

Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Flemingovo nam 2 166 10 Prague 6 Czech Republic

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