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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Aug 5.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Virus Res. 2008;72:155–205. doi: 10.1016/S0065-3527(08)00404-1

Figure 8. Mechanism of Papillomavirus Genome Partitioning.

Figure 8

A. Model for partitioning of papillomavirus genomes. Cellular chromosomes (blue crescents) are partitioned by attachment to the spindle in mitotis. The viral E2 protein (purple) binds to the viral genome and tethers it to mitotic chromosomes, thus hitchhiking on the cellular chromosomes.

B. Model for chromosomal tethering by the BPV-1 E2 protein. The E2 DNA binding domain binds to sites in the viral genome while the transactivation domain interacts with proteins, such as Brd4, on mitotic chromosomes.

C. Binding patterns of three different E2 proteins, as detected by immunofluorescence, on mitotic chromosomes. BPV-1 E2 forms small speckles on the arms of all chromosomes. HPV-8 E2 is observed in fewer, larger speckles that bind adjacent to the centromere of acrocentric chromosomes. HPV-11 E2 is also observed binding to the pericentromeric region of chromosomes, but only in certain fixation conditions (Oliveira et al, 2006). The E2 proteins are shown in green, cellular DNA in blue and the mitotic spindle in red.