Fungal virus capsids, cytoplasmic compartments for the replication of double-stranded RNA, formed as icosahedral shells of asymmetric Gag dimers.

The primary functions of most virus capsids are to protect the viral genome in the extra-cellular milieu and deliver it to the host. In contrast, the capsids of fungal viruses, like the cores of all other known double stranded RNA viruses, are not involved in host recognition but do shield their genomes, and they also carry out transcription and replication. Nascent (+) strands are extruded from transcribing virions. The capsids of the yeast virus L-A are composed of Gag (capsid protein; 76 kDa), with a few molecules of Gag-Pol (170 kDa). Analysis of these 420 A diameter shells and those of the fungal P4 virus by cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction shows that they share the same novel icosahedral structure. Both capsids consist of 60 equivalent Gag dimers, whose two subunits occupy non-equivalent bonding environments. Stoichiometry data on other double-stranded RNA viruses indicate that the 120-subunit structure is widespread, implying that this molecular architecture has features that are particularly favorable to the design of a capsid that is also a biosynthetic compartment

Clocinnamox inhibits the intravenous self-administration of opioid agonists in rhesus monkeys: comparison with effects on opioid agonist-mediated antinociception

 The effects of CCAM, an insurmountable mu opioid receptor antagonist, were studied on the intravenous self-administration and thermoantinociception of alfentanil and nalbuphine, high- and low-efficacy opioid agonists, respectively, in rhesus monkeys. A single dose of 0.1 mg/kg CCAM IV reduced alfentanil’s reinforcing potency in an FR30 TO 45s schedule 10-fold within a 24-h period. The maximum response rates remained essentially unchanged. At 1 mg/kg, CCAM caused a 300-fold shift of the alfentanil dose-response curve and also depressed the maximum response rates. CCAM also blocked insurmountably responding for nalbuphine, which was essentially abolished in two of three animals after a dose of 0.1 mg/kg CCAM and in all animals after 1 mg/kg. The acute insurmountable antagonism of alfentanil and nalbuphine self-administration by CCAM was used to determine the (relative initial) efficacy values of both agonists. Efficacy values, tau, were 391 for alfentanil and 196 for nalbuphine; the apparent in vivo dissociation constants, K A , were 0.16 mg/kg per injection (i.e., 350 nmol/kg per injection) for alfentanil and 0.14 mg/kg (370 nmol/kg per injection) for nalbuphine. In comparison, in a rhesus monkey 50°C warm-water tail withdrawal assay, the tau values were 11 for alfentanil and 0.92 for nalbuphine, and the K A values were 0.2 mg/kg (440 nmol/kg) for alfentanil and 0.15 mg/kg (400 nmol/kg) for nalbuphine. Therefore, it seems that the higher potency of alfentanil and nalbuphine in self-administration as compared to thermal antinociception in rhesus monkeys is predominantly due to a larger efficacy of the same agonist in self-administration (i.e., a larger receptor pool) rather than differences in apparent in vivo affinity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41957/1/213-129-3-233_71290233.pd

CfT-1, An LTR-Retrotransposon in Cladosporium fulvum, a fungal pathogen of tomato

A retrotransposon from the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum (syn. Fulvia fulva) has been isolated and characterised. It is 6968 by in length and bounded by identical long terminal repeats of 427 bp; 5 by target-site duplications were found. Putative first- and second-strand primer binding sites were identified. Three long open reading frames (ORFs) are predicted from the sequence. The first has homology to retroviral gag genes. The second includes sequences homologous to protease, reverse transcriptase, RNAse H and integrase, in that order. Sequence comparisons of the predicted ORFs indicate that this element is closely related to the gypsy class of LTR retrotransposons. Races of the pathogen exhibit polymorphisms in their complement of at least 25 copies of the sequence. Virus-like particles which co-sediment with reverse transcriptase activity were observed in homogenates of the fungus. This is the first report of an LTR retrotransposon in a filamentous fungus