Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV), a positive-strand RNA virus that belongs to the Arteriviridae family of Nidovirales, has been identified as the causative agent of PRRS. Nsp1alpha is the amino (N)-terminal protein i ...
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV), a positive-strand RNA virus that belongs to the Arteriviridae family of Nidovirales, has been identified as the causative agent of PRRS. Nsp1alpha is the amino (N)-terminal protein in a polyprotein encoded by the PRRSV genome and is reported to be crucial for subgenomic mRNA synthesis, presumably by serving as a transcription factor. Before functioning in transcription, nsp1alpha proteolytically releases itself from nsp1beta. Nsp1alpha contains a ZF domain (this entry), a papain-like cysteine protease (PCP) domain with a zinc ion unexpectedly bound at the active site (which is essential for proteolytic self-release of nsp1alpha), and a carboxyl-terminal extension (which occupies the substrate binding site of the PCP domain).