Structure of DMV pore complex from EAV - a simplified Nidovirus model
Dr. Wenxin Zhang (Post-doctoral Fellow)
[Supervisor: Professor Tao Ni]

Positive-stranded RNA viruses extensively remodel host-cell intracellular membranes to form specialized replication organelles. Among these, double-membrane vesicles (DMVs) are key structures that serve as the primary sites of viral RNA synthesis. In members of the order Nidovirales, DMV biogenesis is typically driven by viral transmembrane non-structural proteins (NSPs)—NSP3, NSP4, and NSP6 in coronaviruses, and NSP2, NSP3, and NSP5 in arteriviruses. Previously, we determined the molecular architecture of the SARS-CoV-2 mini-DMV pore complex. To explore the structural and functional diversity of DMV pore complexes across Nidovirales, we investigated a phylogenetically distant representative, Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV). Using high-throughput subtomogram averaging and single-particle analysis, we resolved the EAV mini-DMV pore complex structure at 3.0 Å resolution. These findings provide new insights into the evolutionary relationships within Nidovirales and establish a structural framework for understanding replication organelle formation across this viral order.

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