Transition metals and oxidation reactions trigger stargate opening during the initial stages of the replicative cycle of the giant Tupanvirus
Tupanviruses, members of the family <i>Mimiviridae</i>, infect phagocytic cells. Particle uncoating begins inside the phagosome, with capsid opening via the stargate. The mechanism through which this opening takes place is unknown. Once phagocytized, metal ion flux control and ROS are induced to inactivate foreign particles, including viruses. Here, we studied the effect of iron ions, copper ions, and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> on Tupanvirus particles. Such treatments induced stargate opening <i>in vitro</i>, as observed by different microscopy techniques. Metal-treated viruses were found to be non-infectious, leading to the hypothesis that stargate opening likely resulted in the release of the viral seed, which is required for infection initiation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a giant virus capsid morphological change induced by transition metals and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, which may be important to describe new virulence factors and capsid uncoating mechanisms.
Authors
- Jason R. Schrad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6695-7070)
- Jônatas Santos Abrahão (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9420-1791)
- Victor Alejandro Essus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1835-0538)
- Gabriel Henrique Pereira Nunes
- Glauber Ribeiro de Sousa Araújo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5478-9006)
- Sundharraman Subramanian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8684-6984)
- Simon J. White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9227-9461)
- Juliana R. Cortines (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2481-9267)
- Carolyn M. Teschke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6420-4895)
- Kristin N. Parent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6095-0628)
- Juliana dos Santos Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8101-9421)
- Charles M. Bridges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9527-2476)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mBio
- Published
- 2024-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02192-24
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.33
Funders
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- University of Connecticut
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem