FIG 8.

Model of σNS mRNA recruitment for reovirus factory formation. (A) Following viral attachment and internalization, reovirus cores enter the cytoplasm and transcribe viral mRNAs that are translated to yield structural and nonstructural (NS) proteins. Factory scaffolds are formed by μNS (large magenta sphere), which recruits reovirus structural proteins. Viral mRNAs in the cytoplasm are bound by σNS and delivered to factory scaffolds. Viral components that form nascent viral cores are concentrated in factories, promoting viral packaging and core maturation for secondary rounds of transcription and translation. (B) Mutations in σNS that compromise RNA-binding capacity also impede recruitment of mRNAs to factories and stall factory enlargement, as nascent cores do not form and are thus incapable of amplifying viral replication. This figure was prepared using BioRender.