%0 Journal Article %A Stokes, H. L. %A Easton, A. J. %A Marriott, A. C. %T Chimeric pneumovirus nucleocapsid (N) proteins allow identification of amino acids essential for the function of the respiratory syncytial virus N protein %D 2003 %J Journal of General Virology, %V 84 %N 10 %P 2679-2683 %@ 1465-2099 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.19370-0 %I Microbiology Society, %X The nucleocapsid (N) protein of the pneumovirus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major structural protein which encapsidates the RNA genome and is essential for replication and transcription of the RSV genome. The N protein of the related virus pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) is functionally unable to replace the RSV N protein in a minigenome replication assay. Using chimeric proteins, in which the immediate C-terminal part of the RSV N protein was replaced with the equivalent region of the PVM N protein, it was shown that six amino acid residues near the C terminus of the N protein (between residues 352–369) are essential for its function in replication and for the ability of the N protein to bind to the viral phosphoprotein, P. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.19370-0