Cracking the secrets of virus ‘uncoating’ may help fight infections

Influenza and other viruses pack their genetic material into a protein shell, which must be disassembled for the viruses to efficiently replicate. But how viruses “uncoat” their genes remains largely unknown. Now, Friedrich Miescher Institute researchers have identified crucial features of this uncoating process—work that may inform the development of new antiviral treatments. Seasonal flu, caused by the influenza A virus, is an acute respiratory infection that can lead to severe illness or death, particularly among the elderly and people with serious medical conditions. Like other viruses, influenza A is a master hijacker that takes control of the machinery of an infected cell to produce new viral particles. The virus’s genetic material is enclosed within a protective protein shell, which must be taken to pieces through a process called uncoating. Scientists have known that during uncoating, chains of a protein called ubiquitin—which are attached to the surface of the influenza A virus—interact...