Single-molecule FRET for virology: 20 years of insight into protein structure and dynamics

Although viral protein structure and replication mechanisms have been explored extensively with X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and population imaging studies, these methods are often not able to distinguish dynamic conformational changes in real time. Single-molecule fluorescence r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quarterly reviews of biophysics 2023-05, Vol.56, p.e3-e3, Article e3
Main Authors: Groves, Danielle, Hepp, Christof, Kapanidis, Achillefs N., Robb, Nicole C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antiviral agents
Cryoelectron Microscopy
Crystallography
DNA-directed RNA polymerase
Dyes
Dynamic structural analysis
Ebola virus
Efficiency
Electron microscopy
Energy
Energy transfer
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer - methods
Glycoproteins
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Influenza
Life cycles
Ligands
Light
Microscopy
Nucleic Acids
Population studies
Protein Conformation
Protein folding
Protein structure
Proteins
Reverse transcription
Review
RNA polymerase
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Viral Proteins
Virology
Viruses
X-ray crystallography
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Summary:Although viral protein structure and replication mechanisms have been explored extensively with X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and population imaging studies, these methods are often not able to distinguish dynamic conformational changes in real time. Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) offers unique insights into interactions and states that may be missed in ensemble studies, such as nucleic acid or protein structure, and conformational transitions during folding, receptor–ligand interactions, and fusion. We discuss the application of smFRET to the study of viral protein conformational dynamics, with a particular focus on viral glycoprotein dynamics, viral helicases, proteins involved in HIV reverse transcription, and the influenza RNA polymerase. smFRET experiments have played a crucial role in deciphering conformational changes in these processes, emphasising the importance of smFRET as a tool to help elucidate the life cycle of viral pathogens and identify key anti-viral targets.
ISSN:0033-5835
1469-8994
DOI:10.1017/S0033583523000021