The structure of Zika virus NS5 reveals a conserved domain conformation.
Wang, B., Tan, X.F., Thurmond, S., Zhang, Z.M., Lin, A., Hai, R., Song, J.(2017) Nat Commun 8: 14763-14763
- PubMed: 28345600 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14763
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5TMH - PubMed Abstract: 
The recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) has imposed a serious threat to public health. Here we report the crystal structure of the ZIKV NS5 protein in complex with S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine, in which the tandem methyltransferase (MTase) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domains stack into one of the two alternative conformations of flavivirus NS5 proteins. The activity of this NS5 protein is verified through a de novo RdRp assay on a subgenomic ZIKV RNA template. Importantly, our structural analysis leads to the identification of a potential drug-binding site of ZIKV NS5, which might facilitate the development of novel antivirals for ZIKV.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.