Unraveling the Nanomechanical and Vibrational Properties of the Mayaro Virus
Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging mosquito-borne viral pathogen whose infection results in arthritogenic disease. Despite ongoing research efforts, MAYV biology is largely unknown. Physical virology can assess MAYV nanoparticle metastability, assembly/disassembly, and polymorphism, allowing us to understand virion architecture and dynamics. Here, we employ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface enhancement Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to assess MAYV nanomechanical properties, including maps of adhesion force and Young's modulus on individual viral particles. We established topographic maps of MAYV in two and three dimensions, revealing the three-dimensional arrangement and distribution of charges on viral spikes at the virus surface. Furthermore, the organization of the densely packaged RNA, which affords the viral particle exceptional mechanical resistance compared to chikungunya (CHIKV), was observed using MAYV adsorption patterns. The vibrational signature of MAYV particles differs from CHIKV, with more intense protein modes matching the distribution of E1/E2 dimers and the nucleocapsid, which are well structured and suggestive of mechanical strength.
Authors
- Laís D. Coimbra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0120-6898)
- Leandro R.S. Barbosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5997-2160)
- Rafael Elias Marques (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6949-0947)
- Luciana Magalhães Rebêlo Alencar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8210-2016)
- Álefe Roger Silva França (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1802-3558)
- Clenilton Costa dos Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3156-8673)
- Ralph Santos‐Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0905-481X)
- Pedro Filho Noronha Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2524-4434)
- Joel Félix Silva Diniz Filho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7525-2403)
Institutions
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Ceará (BR)
- Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (BR)
- Nuclear Engineering Institute (BR)
- Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (BR)
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Maranhão (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Omega
- Published
- 2024-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c06749
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.66
Funders
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão