The transport of circovirus capsid protein into nucleus is essential for viral replication in infected cell. However, the role of nucleolar shuttle proteins during porcine circovirus 3 capsid protein (PCV3 Cap) import is still not understood. Here, we report a previously unidentified nucleolar localization signal (NoLS) of PCV3 Cap, which hijacks the nucleolar phosphoprotein nucleophosmin-1 (NPM1) to facilitate nucleolar localization of PCV3 Cap. The NoLS of PCV3 Cap and serine-48 residue of N-terminal oligomerization domain of NPM1 are essential for PCV3 Cap/NPM1 interaction. In addition, charge property of serine-48 residue of NPM1 is critical for nucleolar localization and interaction with PCV3 Cap. Taken together, our findings demonstrate for the first time that NPM1 interacts with PCV3 Cap and is responsible for its nucleolar localization.
Keywords: amino acid charge property; capsid protein; nucleolar localization signal; nucleolar phosphoprotein nucleophosmin-1; porcine circovirus type 3.