Structure of a phleboviral envelope glycoprotein reveals a consolidated model of membrane fusion
Halldorsson S., Behrens A-J., Harlos K., Huiskonen JT., Elliott RM., Crispin M., Brennan B., Bowden TA.
Significance Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a deadly tick-borne viral pathogen. Since first being reported in China in 2009, SFTSV has spread throughout South Korea and Japan, with mortality rates reaching up to 30%. The surface of the SFTSV virion is decorated by two glycoproteins, Gn and Gc. Here, we report the atomic-level structure of the Gc glycoprotein in a conformation formed during uptake of the virion into the host cell. Our analysis reveals the conformational changes that the Gc undergoes during host cell infection and provides structural evidence that these rearrangements are conserved with otherwise unrelated alpha- and flaviviruses.