Molecular architecture and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 envelope by integrative modeling

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Pezeshkian, Weria
  • Fabian Grunewald
  • Oleksandr Narykov
  • Senbao Lu
  • Valeria Arkhipova
  • Alexey Solodovnikov
  • Tsjerk A. Wassenaar
  • Siewert J. Marrink
  • Dmitry Korkin

Despite tremendous efforts, the exact structure of SARS-CoV-2 and related betacoronaviruses remains elusive. SARS-CoV-2 envelope is a key structural component of the virion that encapsulates viral RNA. It is composed of three structural proteins, spike, membrane (M), and envelope, which interact with each other and with the lipids acquired from the host membranes. Here, we developed and applied an integrative multi -scale computational approach to model the envelope structure of SARS-CoV-2 with near atomistic detail, focusing on studying the dynamic nature and molecular interactions of its most abundant, but largely under-studied, M protein. The molecular dynamics simulations allowed us to test the envelope stability under different configurations and revealed that the M dimers agglomerated into large, filament-like, macromolec-ular assemblies with distinct molecular patterns. These results are in good agreement with current experi-mental data, demonstrating a generic and versatile approach to model the structure of a virus de novo.

Original languageEnglish
JournalStructure
Volume31
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)492-50
Number of pages20
ISSN0969-2126
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Apr 2023

    Research areas

  • RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS, PROTEIN-STRUCTURE PREDICTION, COARSE-GRAINED MODEL, FORCE-FIELD, STRUCTURE VALIDATION, SIMULATIONS, MEMBRANE, MOLPROBITY, INSIGHTS, SERVER

ID: 347302501