2022/03/14 by Shimin Li, Dianbing Wang, Abbas Ghulam +10 · 4 citations
Medicine · Immunology and Microbiology · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Mosquito-borne diseases and control #HIV Research and Treatment #CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
paper · doi:10.1128/jvi.01846-21
Zika virus (ZIKV) is the mosquito-borne enveloped flavivirus that causes microcephaly in neonates. While real-time imaging plays a critical role in dissecting viral biology, no fluorescent, genetically engineered ZIKV for single-particle tracking is currently available. Here, we generated a replication-competent genetically engineered ZIKV by introducing the tetracysteine (TC) tag into its capsid protein. After labeling the TC tag with the fluorescent biarsenical reagents, we visualized the nuclear import behavior of the capsid protein and the endocytosis process of single ZIKV particle. Taken together, these results demonstrate a fluorescent labeling strategy to track the ZIKV-host interactions at both the protein level and the viral particle level. Our replication-competent TC27 ZIKV should open an avenue to study the ZIKV-host interactions and may provide applications for antiviral screening.