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Cited by 462

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 103 of the 103 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein forms mutually exclusive condensates with RNA and the membrane-associated M protein

Open access
Lu, Shan, Ye, Qiaozhen, Singh, Digvijay, Cao, Yong, Diedrich, Jolene K., Yates, John R., Villa, Elizabeth, Cleveland, Don W., Corbett, Kevin D.·2021·Nature Communications

Abstract

The multifunctional nucleocapsid (N) protein in SARS-CoV-2 binds the ~30 kb viral RNA genome to aid its packaging into the 80–90 nm membrane-enveloped virion. The N protein is composed of N-terminal RNA-binding and C-terminal dimerization domains that are flanked by three intrinsically disordered regions. Here we demonstrate that the N protein’s central disordered domain drives phase separation with RNA, and that phosphorylation of an adjacent serine/arginine rich region modulates the physical properties of the resulting condensates. In cells, N forms condensates that recruit the stress granule protein G3BP1, highlighting a potential role for N in G3BP1 sequestration and stress granule inhibition. The SARS-CoV-2 membrane (M) protein independently induces N protein phase separation, and three-component mixtures of N + M + RNA form condensates with mutually exclusive compartments containing N + M or N + RNA, including annular structures in which the M protein coats the outside of an N + RNA condensate. These findings support a model in which phase separation of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein contributes both to suppression of the G3BP1-dependent host immune response and to packaging genomic RNA during virion assembly.

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Metadata

Authors
Lu, S., Ye, Q., Singh, D., Cao, Y., Diedrich, J. K., Yates, J. R., Villa, E., Cleveland, D. W., & Corbett, K. D.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2021-01-21
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
502-502
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3125800928
Cited by
462
References
103
FWCI
27.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein forms mutually exclusive condensates with RNA and the membrane-associated M protein. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41467-020-20768-y
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Lu, S., Ye, Q., Singh, D., Cao, Y., Diedrich, J. K., Yates, J. R., Villa, E., Cleveland, D. W., & Corbett, K. D. (2021). The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein forms mutually exclusive condensates with RNA and the membrane-associated M protein. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20768-y

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