| Type: | Family | Name: | Poxvirus VP8/L4R, nucleic acid binding |
| Description: | The 25 kDa product of Vaccinia virusgene L4R is also known as VP8. VP8 is found in the cores of Vaccinia virions and is essential for the formation of transcriptionally competent viral particles. It binds both single stranded and double stranded DNA and RNA with similar affinities. Binding is thought to involve cooperative interactions between protein subunits. The protein is proteolytically cleaved during viral assembly at an Ala-Gly-Ala site. Possible roles for VP8 include packaging and maintaining the DNA genome in a transcribable configuration; binding ssDNA during transcription initiation; and cooperation with I8R protein to unwind early promoter regions. VP8 may also function in either transcription elongation or release of mRNA molecules from viral particles []. | Short Name: | VP8_pox_nuc-bd |
