A distinct class of plant and animal viral proteins that disrupt mitosis by directly interrupting the mitotic entry switch Wee1-Cdc25-Cdk1
Huaibing Jin, Z Du, Yanjing Zhang, Judit Antal, Zongliang Xia, Yan Wang, Yang Gao, Xiaoge Zhao, Xinyun Han, Yanjun Cheng, Qian‐Hua Shen, Kunpu Zhang, Robert Elder, Zsigmond Benkő, Csaba Fenyvuesvolgyi, Ge Li, Dionne Rebello, Jing Li, Shilai Bao, Yuqi Zhao, Daowen Wang
Abstract
, and tobacco) cells through interrupting the function of Wee1-Cdc25-CDKA/Cdc2 via direct protein-protein interactions and alteration of CDKA/Cdc2 phosphorylation. When ectopically expressed, 17K disrupts the mitosis of cultured human cells, and HIV-1 Vpr inhibits plant cell growth. Furthermore, 17K and Vpr share similar secondary structural feature and common amino acid residues required for interacting with plant CDKA. Thus, our work reveals a distinct class of mitosis regulators that are conserved between plant and animal viruses and play active roles in viral pathogenesis.