Figure 2.

Replication cycle of ZIKV. (1) The E protein on the surface of the ZIKV virus particle recognises and binds to receptors on the cell surface. The virus particles then enter the cell via clathrin‐mediated endocytosis. (2) Fusion of the endosomal membrane and the viral envelope results in the positive‐sense viral RNA being released into the cell cytoplasm, where viral replication occurs. (3) Viral replication follows the secretory pathway in the host cell, facilitated by the viral nonstructural proteins. Viral RNA is translated in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and viral proteins are processed in the Golgi apparatus, where further post‐translational modifications such as carbohydrate addition and proteolytic cleavage occur. Viral NS5 protein which is the RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) synthesises negative‐sense RNA, which is in turn used to produce more copies of the viral positive‐sense RNA. (4) The viral positive‐sense RNA is packaged into the nucleocapsid core (consisting viral proteins synthesised using host cell machinery). (5) The virion then moves towards the host cell membrane, where it acquires the membrane envelope and is released via exocytosis as a mature virion. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]