Mechanism of selective RNA packaging during HIV-1 particle assembly

The Gag polyprotein plays a key role in the life cycle of HIV-1, orchestrating the assembly of new viral particles and packaging the viral RNA (vRNA) genome. While Gag can oligomerize in the presence of many nucleic acids, Gag selectively packages vRNA in the presence of a vast excess of cellular RNAs. However, the origin for this high selectivity towards vRNA remains poorly understood. We are exploring the hypothesis that vRNA confers an advantage during the early steps of particle assembly, either through faster protein binding kinetics or higher binding stoichiometry.