Homologous potyvirus and flavivirus proteins belonging to a superfamily of helicase-like proteins |
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Authors: | S Laín J L Riechmann M T Martín J A García |
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Institution: | Centro de Biología Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain. |
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Abstract: | Comparison of the nucleoside triphosphate-binding motif(NTBM)-containing proteins of two groups of apparently distantly related positive-strand RNA viruses (potyvirus and flavivirus), revealed significant sequence similarity. In addition, these two groups of viral proteins show amino acid motifs in common with those conserved in a group of five NTBM-containing proteins from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, some of which have been experimentally related to helicase activity. Here we propose that the proteins mentioned above constitute a superfamily of helicase-like proteins, distinct from the one previously described Gorbalenya et al., FEBS Lett. 235 (1988) 16-24; Hodgman, Nature 333 (1988) 22-23; 578], which includes the NTBM-containing proteins from another group of positive-strand RNA viruses, the 'Sindbis-like' viruses. |
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