Poxvirus virion biogenesis is a complex, multistep process, starting with the formation of crescent-shaped viral membranes, followed by their enclosure of viral core to form the spherical immature virions. Crescent formation requires a group of proteins that are highly conserved among poxviruses, including A6 and A11 of vaccinia virus (VACV). To gain a better understanding of the molecular function of A6, we established a HeLa cell line that inducibly expressed VACV-A6, which allowed us to construct VACV mutants with A6 deletion or mutation. As expected, A6 deletion VACV mutant failed to replicate in non-complementing cell lines with defects in crescent formation and A11 localization. Surprisingly, a VACV mutan... More
Poxvirus virion biogenesis is a complex, multistep process, starting with the formation of crescent-shaped viral membranes, followed by their enclosure of viral core to form the spherical immature virions. Crescent formation requires a group of proteins that are highly conserved among poxviruses, including A6 and A11 of vaccinia virus (VACV). To gain a better understanding of the molecular function of A6, we established a HeLa cell line that inducibly expressed VACV-A6, which allowed us to construct VACV mutants with A6 deletion or mutation. As expected, A6 deletion VACV mutant failed to replicate in non-complementing cell lines with defects in crescent formation and A11 localization. Surprisingly, a VACV mutant that had A6 substituted with a close ortholog from Yaba-like disease virus, YLDV-97, also failed to replicate. This mutant, however, developed crescents and had normal A11 localization despite failing to form immature virions. A limited proteolysis of the recombinant A6 protein identified an N- and a C-domain of approximately 121 and 251 residues, respectively. Various chimeras of VACV-A6 and YLDV-97 were constructed, but only one that precisely combined the N-domain of VACV-A6 and the C-domain of YLDV-97 supported VACV replication, albeit at reduced efficiency. Our results show that VACV A6 has a two-domain architecture and functions in both crescent formation and its enclosure to form immature virions. While a cognate N-domain is not required for crescent formation, it is required for virion formation, suggesting that interactions of N-domain with cognate viral proteins may be critical for virion assembly.IMPORTANCE Poxviruses are unique among enveloped viruses in that they acquire their primary envelope not through budding from cellular membranes but by forming and extending crescent membranes. The crescents are highly unusual, open-ended membranes, and their origin and biogenesis have perplexed virologists for decades. A group of five viral proteins have been recently identified as essential for crescent formation, including A6 protein of vaccinia virus. It is thus important to understand the structure and function of A6 in order to solve the long-standing mystery of poxvirus membrane biogenesis. Here, we established an experimental system that allowed the genetic manipulation of the essential A6L gene. By studying A6 mutant viruses, we found that A6 plays an essential role not only in crescent formation but also in its subsequent enclosure to form immature virions. We defined A6 domain architecture and suggested that one of its two domains cooperates with cognate viral proteins.
