Envelope protein palmitoylations are crucial for murine coronavirus assembly

The coronavirus assembly process encloses a ribonucleoprotein genome into vesicles containing the lipid-embedded proteins S (spike), E (envelope), and M (membrane). This process depends on interactions with membranes that may involve palmitoylation, a common posttranslational lipidation of cysteine residues. To determine whether specific palmitoylations influence coronavirus assembly, we introduced plasmid DNAs encoding mouse hepatitis coronavirus (MHV) S, E, M, and N (nucleocapsid) into 293T cells and found that virus-like particles (VLPs) were robustly assembled and secreted into culture medium. Palmitate adducts predicted on cysteines 40, 44, and 47 of the 83-residue E protein were then evaluated by constructing mutant cDNAs with alanine or glycine codon substitutions at one or more of these positions. Triple-substituted proteins (E.Ts) lacked palmitate adducts. Both native E and E.T proteins localized at identical perinuclear locations, and both copurified with M proteins, but E.T was entirely incompetent for VLP production. In the presence of the E.T proteins, the M protein subunits accumulated into detergent-insoluble complexes that failed to secrete from cells, while native E proteins mobilized M into detergent-soluble secreted forms. Many of these observations were corroborated in the context of natural MHV infections, with native E, but not E.T, complementing debilitated recombinant MHVs lacking E. Our findings suggest that palmitoylations are essential for E to act as a vesicle morphogenetic protein and further argue that palmitoylated E proteins operate by allowing the primary coronavirus assembly subunits to assume configurations that can mobilize into secreted lipid vesicles and virions.     

Simian virus 40 chromatin interaction with the capsid proteins

It has been established that both in virions and in infected cells, the cellular core histones fold the SV40 DNA into nucleosomes to form the SV40 chromosome or chromatin. We and others have begun to examine how the capsid proteins assemble the SV40 chromatin into virions and to investigate whether these proteins interact with the encapsidated chromatin. To follow the pathway of virus assembly, we have analyzed the nucleoproteins which accumulate in cells infected with the SV40 mutants temperature-sensitive in assembly: tsC, tsBC, and tsB. (The temperature-sensitivity of these mutants result from alterations in the amino acid sequence of the major capsid protein VP1). We have found that mutants belonging to the same class accumulate similar types of nucleoproteins at the nonpermissive temperature (40 degrees C) and thus, share characteristics in common. For example, the tsC mutants accumulate only the 75 S chromatin. Both tsBC and tsB mutants produce in addition to chromatin, nucleoprotein complexes which sediment broadly from 100-160 S and contain all the three capsid proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3. These nucleoproteins can be distinguished morphologically, however. Under the electron microscope, the tsBC 100-160 S nucleoproteins appear as chromatin to which a small cluster of the capsid proteins is attached; the tsB nucleoproteins appear as partially assembled virions. In addition, we find that the 220 S virions are assembled in cells coinfected with tsB and tsC mutants at 40 degrees C, in agreement with genetic analysis. Our observations favor the hypothesis that the VP1 protein contains three discrete domains. We speculate that each domain may play a specific function in SV40 assembly. To gain more insight into VP1-VP1 interactions, we have examined the nucleoproteins which result from treatment of the mature wild-type virions with increasing concentrations of the reducing agent DTT. In the presence of as low a concentration of DTT as 0.1 mM, the virion shell can be penetrated by micrococcal nuclease, which then cleaves the viral DNA. This result indicates that some of the disulfide bonds bridging the VP1 proteins are on the virion surface.     

Simian Virus 40 Chromatin Interaction with the Capsid Proteins

Abstract

It has been established that both in virions and in infected cells, the cellular core histones fold the SV40 DNA into nucleosomes to form the SV40 chromosome or chromatin. We and others have begun to examine how the capsid proteins assemble the SV40 chromatin into virions and to investigate whether these proteins interact with the encapsidated chromatin. To follow the pathway of virus assembly, we have analyzed the nucleoproteins which accumulate in cells infected with the SV40 mutants temperature-sensitive in assembly: tsC, tsBC, and tsB. (The temperature-sensitivity of these mutants result from alterations in the amino acid sequence of the major capsid protein VP1). We have found that mutants belonging to the same class accumulate similar types of nucleoproteins at the nonpermissive temperature (40°C) and thus, share characteristics in common. For example, the tsC mutants accumulate only the 75 S chromatin. Both tsBC and tsB mutants produce in addition to chromatin, nucleoprotein complexes which sediment broadly from 100–160 S and contain all the three capsid proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3. These nucleoproteins can be distinguished morphologically, however. Under the electron microscope, the tsBC 100–160 S nucleoproteins appear as chromatin to which a small cluster of the capsid proteins is attached; the tsB nucleoproteins appear as partially assembled virions. In addition, we find that the 220 S virions are assembled in cells coinfected with tsB and tsC mutants at 40°C, in agreement with genetic analysis. Our observations favor the hypothesis that the VP1 protein contains three discrete domains. We speculate that each domain may play a specific function in SV40 assembly. To gain more insight into VP1-VP1 interactions, we have examined the nucleoproteins which result from treatment of the mature wild-type virions with increasing concentrations of the reducing agent DTT. In the presence of as low a concentration of DTT as 0.1 mM, the virion shell can be penetrated by micrococcal nuclease, which then cleaves the viral DNA. This result indicates that some of the disulfide bonds bridging the VP1 proteins are on the virion surface.     

Genetic analysis of determinants for spike glycoprotein assembly into murine coronavirus virions: distinct roles for charge-rich and cysteine-rich regions of the endodomain

The coronavirus spike protein (S) forms the distinctive virion surface structures that are characteristic of this viral family, appearing in negatively stained electron microscopy as stems capped with spherical bulbs. These structures are essential for the initiation of infection through attachment of the virus to cellular receptors followed by fusion to host cell membranes. The S protein can also mediate the formation of syncytia in infected cells. The S protein is a type I transmembrane protein that is very large compared to other viral fusion proteins, and all except a short carboxy-terminal segment of the S molecule constitutes the ectodomain. For the prototype coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), it has previously been established that S protein assembly into virions is specified by the carboxy-terminal segment, which comprises the transmembrane domain and the endodomain. We have genetically dissected these domains in the MHV S protein to localize the determinants of S incorporation into virions. Our results establish that assembly competence maps to the endodomain of S, which was shown to be sufficient to target a heterologous integral membrane protein for incorporation into MHV virions. In particular, mutational analysis indicated a major role for the charge-rich carboxy-terminal region of the endodomain. Additionally, we found that the adjacent cysteine-rich region of the endodomain is critical for fusion of infected cells, confirming results previously obtained with S protein expression systems.     

Role of Spike Protein Endodomains in Regulating Coronavirus Entry

Enveloped viruses enter cells by viral glycoprotein-mediated binding to host cells and subsequent fusion of virus and host cell membranes. For the coronaviruses, viral spike (S) proteins execute these cell entry functions. The S proteins are set apart from other viral and cellular membrane fusion proteins by their extensively palmitoylated membrane-associated tails. Palmitate adducts are generally required for protein-mediated fusions, but their precise roles in the process are unclear. To obtain additional insights into the S-mediated membrane fusion process, we focused on these acylated carboxyl-terminal intravirion tails. Substituting alanines for the cysteines that are subject to palmitoylation had effects on both S incorporation into virions and S-mediated membrane fusions. In specifically dissecting the effects of endodomain mutations on the fusion process, we used antiviral heptad repeat peptides that bind only to folding intermediates in the S-mediated fusion process and found that mutants lacking three palmitoylated cysteines remained in transitional folding states nearly 10 times longer than native S proteins. This slower refolding was also reflected in the paucity of postfusion six-helix bundle configurations among the mutant S proteins. Viruses with fewer palmitoylated S protein cysteines entered cells slowly and had reduced specific infectivities. These findings indicate that lipid adducts anchoring S proteins into virus membranes are necessary for the rapid, productive S protein refolding events that culminate in membrane fusions. These studies reveal a previously unappreciated role for covalently attached lipids on the endodomains of viral proteins eliciting membrane fusion reactions.     

Functional Analysis of Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Virus Deletion Mutants Lacking the Small Hydrophobic and/or Attachment Glycoprotein Gene

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) produces three envelope glycoproteins, the attachment glycoprotein (G), the fusion (F) protein, and the small hydrophobic (SH) protein. It had been assumed, by analogy with other paramyxoviruses, that the G and F proteins would be required for the first two steps of viral entry, attachment and fusion. However, following repeated passage in cell culture, a viable mutant RSV that lacked both the G and SH genes was isolated (R. A. Karron, D. A. Buonagurio, A. F. Georgiu, S. S. Whitehead, J. E. Adamus, M. L. Clements-Mann, D. O. Harris, V. B. Randolph, S. A. Udem, B. R. Murphy, and M. S. Sidhu, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:13,961--13,966, 1997). To explore the roles of the G, F, and SH proteins in virion assembly, function, and cytopathology, we have modified the full-length RSV cDNA and used it to rescue infectious RSV lacking the G and/or SH genes. The three resulting viruses and the parental virus all contain the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene that serves to identify infected cells. We have used purified, radiolabeled virions to examine virus production and function, in conjunction with GFP to quantify infected cells. We found that the G protein enhances virion binding to target cells but plays no role in penetration after attachment. The G protein also enhances cell-to-cell fusion, presumably via cell-to-cell binding, and enhances virion assembly or release. The presence or absence of the G protein in virions has no obvious effect on the content of F protein or host cell proteins in the virion. In growth curve experiments, the viruses lacking the G protein produced viral titers that were at least 10-fold lower than titers of viruses containing the G protein. This reduction is due in large part to the less efficient release of virions and the lower infectivity of the released virions. In the absence of the G protein, virus expressing both the F and SH proteins displayed somewhat smaller plaques, lower fusion activity, and slower viral entry than the virus expressing the F protein alone, suggesting that the SH protein has a negative effect on virus fusion in cell culture.     

Temperature-sensitive BC mutants of simian virus 40: block in virion assembly and accumulation of capsid-chromatin complexes.

We examined the morphology, protein composition, and stability of the nucleoprotein complexes assembled in cells infected with simian virus 40 mutants belonging to the BC complementation group (tsBC11, tsBC208, tsBC214, tsB216, tsBC217, tsBC248, tsBC223, and tsBC274). We found that the 220S virions were not assembled in tsBC-infected cells under restrictive conditions. This block in assembly resulted in the accumulation of 75S chromatin in tsBC11-infected cells, as previously observed by Garber et al. (E.A. Garber, M.M. Seidman, and A.J. Levine, Virology 107:389-401, 1980). In cells infected with any other mutant listed above, the block in assembly resulted in the accumulation of 75S chromatin as well as nucleoprotein complexes sedimenting from 90 to 140S. Biochemical analysis revealed that these latter complexes contained the capsid proteins in addition to simian virus 40 DNA and the cellular core histones. Electron microscopic analysis clearly showed the association of the capsid proteins with the viral chromatin. Our results suggest that these proteins interact with simian virus 40 chromatin in the course of virion maturation and may thus play an active role in controlling simian virus 40 functions.     

Simian virus 40 maturation in cells harboring mutants deleted in the agnogene

The predominant leader region of the late 16 S mRNAs of simian virus 40 encodes a histone-like, 61-amino acid, DNA-binding protein called the agnoprotein or LP1. To test the hypothesis that this protein facilitates assembly of viral minichromosomes into virions, we have studied the synthesis of virions in cells infected with mutants deleted in this region of the SV40 genome. We found that 220 S mature virions, indistinguishable from those of wild type, were produced in cells infected with these mutants. As in wild-type-infected cells, no assembly intermediates other than 75 S chromatin were observed. However, data obtained from both steady-state and pulse-chase labeling experiments indicated that cells infected with agnogene deletion mutants produced virions more slowly than cells infected with wild-type virus. Taken together with data showing that similar levels of virion proteins were present in the wild-type- and mutant-infected cells, these findings strongly suggest that LP1 plays a role in expediting virion assembly.     

Increased infectivity of extracellular adenovirus type 12.

Human adenovirus type 12 was propagated on human embryonic kidney cells, and the specific infectivities of intra- and extracellular virus particles were compared between 48 and 104 h after infection. Released virions exhibited a specific infectivity of up to 10 times higher than that of intracellular particles. The increased infectivity was apparently not due to enhanced rates of adsorption or penetration of extracellular virus. There may be a delay in the onset of viral DNA replication in intracellular virus-infected cells. Differences in the composition of intra- and extracellular virions were not recognized. Differences might also be sought in late expression or assembly of progeny virions or both. The data indicated that the virions released from the infected cells differed from those retained in the nucleus with respect to their specific infectivities. Active mechanisms of virus release have not yet been investigated.     

Vaccinia virus A6 is essential for virion membrane biogenesis and localization of virion membrane proteins to sites of virion assembly

Poxvirus acquires its primary envelope through a process that is distinct from those of other enveloped viruses. The molecular mechanism of this process is poorly understood, but several poxvirus proteins essential for the process have been identified in studies of vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypical poxvirus. Previously, we identified VACV A6 as an essential factor for virion morphogenesis by studying a temperature-sensitive mutant with a lesion in A6. Here, we further studied A6 by constructing and characterizing an inducible virus (iA6) that could more stringently repress A6 expression. When A6 expression was induced by the inducer isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG), iA6 replicated normally, and membrane proteins of mature virions (MVs) predominantly localized in viral factories where virions were assembled. However, when A6 expression was repressed, electron microscopy of infected cells showed the accumulation of large viroplasm inclusions containing virion core proteins but no viral membranes. Immunofluorescence and cell fractionation studies showed that the major MV membrane proteins A13, A14, D8, and H3 did not localize to viral factories but instead accumulated in the secretory compartments, including the endoplasmic reticulum. Overall, our results show that A6 is an additional VACV protein that participates in an early step of virion membrane biogenesis. Furthermore, A6 is required for MV membrane protein localization to sites of virion assembly, suggesting that MV membrane proteins or precursors of MV membranes are trafficked to sites of virion assembly through an active, virus-mediated process that requires A6.     

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoproteins that lack cytoplasmic domain cysteines: impact on association with membrane lipid rafts and incorporation onto budding virus particles

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope comprises a surface gp120 and a transmembrane gp41. The cytoplasmic domain of gp41 contains cysteine residues (C764 and C837) which are targets for palmitoylation and were reported to be required for envelope association with lipid rafts and assembly on budding virions (I. Rousso, M. B. Mixon, B. K. Chen, and P. S. Kim, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:13523-13525, 2000). Several infectious HIV-1 clones contain envelopes that have no gp41 cytoplasmic cysteines. Since no other gp41 amino acid is a target for palmitoylation, these clones imply that palmitoylation is not essential for envelope trafficking and assembly. Here, we show that HIV-1 envelope mutants that lack gp41 cytoplasmic cysteines are excluded from light lipid rafts. Envelopes that contained residues with bulky hydrophobic side chains instead of cysteines retained their association with heavy rafts and were nearly fully functional for incorporation into virions and infectivity. Substitution of cysteines with alanines or serines eliminated raft association and more severely reduced envelope incorporation onto virions and their infectivity. Nevertheless, the A764/A837 mutant envelope retained nearly 40% infectivity compared to the wild type, even though this envelope was excluded from lipid rafts. Our results demonstrate that gp41 cytoplasmic cysteines that are targets for palmitoylation and are required for envelope trafficking to classical lipid rafts are not essential for HIV-1 replication.     

Revertant analysis of a temperature-sensitive mutant of Newcastle disease virus with defective glycoproteins: implication of the fusion glycoprotein in cell killing and isolation of a neuraminidase-deficient hemagglutinating virus

Biological and molecular properties of a temperature-sensitive mutant (C1) of Newcastle disease virus and its revertants were analyzed. C1 exhibited three temperature-sensitive alterations (plaque formation, virion assembly, and cytopathogenicity) and several defects which were also present at the permissive temperature. C1 virions contained low amounts of hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycopeptides and consequently were deficient in hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activities. These virions also contained defective fusion glycoproteins which rendered them poorly hemolytic and slow to penetrate cultured chicken embryo cells. The biological activities of the membrane glycoproteins were recovered sequentially in a series of plaque-forming revertants. The coreversion of hemolysis, membrane-penetrating activities, and cytopathogenicity in the first-step revertant (S1) suggested that fusion glycoproteins were major contributors to cellular destruction. This revertant also provided evidence of a role for fusion glycoproteins in virion assembly. From S1 we isolated a large-plaque-forming revertant (L1) that assembled wild-type amounts of biologically active hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoproteins into virions. Although it was normal for hemagglutination, L1 had less than 3% of the neuraminidase activity of the wild type, demonstrating that these two activities can be uncoupled genetically. The neuraminidase deficiency of L1 did not impair its virulence in ovo or its reproduction in cultured cells.     

The activity of the protease of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is initiated at the membrane of infected cells before the release of viral proteins and is required for release to occur with maximum efficiency.

The final steps in the production of the type C retroviruses include assembly of the viral core particle and release of virions from the surface of the infected cell. The core proteins are translated as part of one of two precursors, Gag and Gag/Pol, which are cleaved by a virally encoded protease. We examined the interaction between the processing of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag precursor and the membrane-based assembly and budding of virions. Our results indicate that cleavage by the viral protease is initiated at the membrane of the infected cell during virus release and that protease activity is required for virion release to occur with maximum efficiency.     

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 3a is a novel structural protein

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 3a protein is one of the opening reading frames in the viral genome with no homologue in other known coronaviruses. Expression of the 3a protein has been demonstrated during both in vitro and in vivo infection. Here we present biochemical data to show that 3a is a novel coronavirus structural protein. 3a was detected in virions purified from SARS-CoV infected Vero E6 cells although two truncated products were present predominantly instead of the full-length protein. In Vero E6 cells transiently transfected with a cDNA construct for expressing 3a, a similar cleavage was observed. Furthermore, co-expression of 3a, membrane and envelope proteins using the baculovirus system showed that both full-length and truncated 3a can be assembled into virus-like particles. This is the first report that demonstrated the incorporation of 3a into virion and showed that the SARS-CoV encodes a novel coronavirus structural protein.     

Isolation and characterization of a membrane-bound population of group B coxsackieviruses.

HeLa cells infected with several group B coxsackieviruses contain a previously undetected, virus-specific ribonucleoprotein particle which we designated membrane-bound virion (MBV). MBVs of B5 virus have a pronounced polygonal appearance and are slightly smaller than virions. The particles sediment more slowly (at about 107S) and have a lower buoyant density (about 1.30). They contain 35S virion RNA; only three, and not four, capsid proteins; and at least seven additional proteins with apparent molecular weights of 21,000 to 92,000. Three of the latter proteins appear to be of host origin; the rest may be precursors of virion capsid proteins. The RNA is resistant to digestion by RNase, and EDTA treatment disrupts the particle. MBVs are infectious, although significantly less so than virions. Cells infected with MBVs produce both types of progeny, virions and MBVs. In coinfected cultures, the yield of progeny is lower than in cells infected with virions alone, suggesting interference by MBVs. Synthesis of both types can be detected within 3.5 h after infection, and synthesis continues for 24 h.     

Cryo-electron tomography of Marburg virus particles and their morphogenesis within infected cells

Several major human pathogens, including the filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, and rhabdoviruses, package their single-stranded RNA genomes within helical nucleocapsids, which bud through the plasma membrane of the infected cell to release enveloped virions. The virions are often heterogeneous in shape, which makes it difficult to study their structure and assembly mechanisms. We have applied cryo-electron tomography and sub-tomogram averaging methods to derive structures of Marburg virus, a highly pathogenic filovirus, both after release and during assembly within infected cells. The data demonstrate the potential of cryo-electron tomography methods to derive detailed structural information for intermediate steps in biological pathways within intact cells. We describe the location and arrangement of the viral proteins within the virion. We show that the N-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein contains the minimal assembly determinants for a helical nucleocapsid with variable number of proteins per turn. Lobes protruding from alternate interfaces between each nucleoprotein are formed by the C-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein, together with viral proteins VP24 and VP35. Each nucleoprotein packages six RNA bases. The nucleocapsid interacts in an unusual, flexible "Velcro-like" manner with the viral matrix protein VP40. Determination of the structures of assembly intermediates showed that the nucleocapsid has a defined orientation during transport and budding. Together the data show striking architectural homology between the nucleocapsid helix of rhabdoviruses and filoviruses, but unexpected, fundamental differences in the mechanisms by which the nucleocapsids are then assembled together with matrix proteins and initiate membrane envelopment to release infectious virions, suggesting that the viruses have evolved different solutions to these conserved assembly steps.     

Role of Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate (PI4P) and Its Binding Protein GOLPH3 in Hepatitis C Virus Secretion

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replicates within the ribonucleoprotein complex, assembled on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived membranous structures closely juxtaposed to the lipid droplets that facilitate the post-replicative events of virion assembly and maturation. It is widely believed that the assembled virions piggy-back onto the very low density lipoprotein particles for secretion. Lipid phosphoinositides are important modulators of intracellular trafficking. Golgi-localized phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) recruits proteins involved in Golgi trafficking to the Golgi membrane and promotes anterograde transport of secretory proteins. Here, we sought to investigate the role of Golgi-localized PI4P in the HCV secretion process. Depletion of the Golgi-specific PI4P pool by Golgi-targeted PI4P phosphatase hSac1 K2A led to significant reduction in HCV secretion without any effect on replication. We then examined the functional role of a newly identified PI4P binding protein GOLPH3 in the viral secretion process. GOLPH3 is shown to maintain a tensile force on the Golgi, required for vesicle budding via its interaction with an unconventional myosin, MYO18A. Silencing GOLPH3 led to a dramatic reduction in HCV virion secretion, as did the silencing of MYO18A. The reduction in virion secretion was accompanied by a concomitant accumulation of intracellular virions, suggesting a stall in virion egress. HCV-infected cells displayed a fragmented and dispersed Golgi pattern, implicating involvement in virion morphogenesis. These studies establish the role of PI4P and its interacting protein GOLPH3 in HCV secretion and strengthen the significance of the Golgi secretory pathway in this process.     

Vaccinia virus F9 virion membrane protein is required for entry but not virus assembly, in contrast to the related L1 protein

All sequenced poxviruses encode orthologs of the vaccinia virus L1 and F9 proteins, which are structurally similar and share about 20% amino acid identity. We found that F9 further resembles L1 as both proteins are membrane components of the mature virion with similar topologies and induce neutralizing antibodies. In addition, a recombinant vaccinia virus that inducibly expresses F9, like a previously described L1 mutant, had a conditional-lethal phenotype: plaque formation and replication of infectious virus were dependent on added inducer. However, only immature virus particles are made when L1 is repressed, whereas normal-looking intracellular and extracellular virions formed in the absence of F9. Except for the lack of F9, the polypeptide components of such virions were indistinguishable from those of wild-type virus. These F9-deficient virions bound to cells, but their cores did not penetrate into the cytoplasm. Furthermore, cells infected with F9-negative virions did not fuse after a brief low-pH treatment, as did cells infected with virus made in the presence of inducer. In these respects, the phenotype associated with F9 deficiency was identical to that produced by the lack of individual components of a previously described poxvirus entry/fusion complex. Moreover, F9 interacted with proteins of that complex, supporting a related role. Thus, despite the structural relationships of L1 and F9, the two proteins have distinct functions in assembly and entry, respectively.     

Virion-wide protein interactions of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

Herpesvirus virions are highly organized structures built through specific protein-protein interactions. Thus, revelation of the protein interactions among virion proteins will shed light on the processes and the mechanisms of virion formation. Recently, we identified 24 virion proteins of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), using a proteomic approach (F. X. Zhu et al., J. Virol. 79:800-811, 2005). In the current study, a comprehensive analysis of protein-protein interaction between KSHV virion proteins was carried out using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) approaches. Every pairwise combination between KSHV tegument and capsid proteins, between tegument and envelope proteins, and among tegument proteins was tested for possible binary interaction. Thirty-seven protein-protein interactions were identified by both Y2H and co-IP analyses. The results revealed interactions between tegument and capsid proteins such as that of open reading frame 64 (ORF64) with ORF25 (major capsid protein [MCP]), ORF62 (triplex-1 [TRI-1]), and ORF26 (TRI-2). Many interactions were detected among the tegument proteins. ORF64 was found to interact with several tegument proteins including ORF11, ORF21, ORF33, ORF45, ORF63, ORF75, and ORF64 itself, suggesting that ORF64 may serve as a hub protein and play a role in recruiting tegument proteins during tegumentation and virion assembly. Our investigation also revealed redundant interactions between tegument proteins and envelope glycoproteins. These interactions are believed to contribute to final envelopment in virion assembly. Overall, this study allows us to establish a virion-wide protein interaction map, which provides insight into the architecture of the KSHV virion and sets up a foundation for exploring the functions of these proteins in viral particle assembly.