{"doi":"10.1093/nar/gkab372","title":"Atomistic basis of force generation, translocation, and coordination in a viral genome packaging motor","abstract":"Double-stranded DNA viruses package their genomes into pre-assembled capsids using virally-encoded ASCE ATPase ring motors. We present the first atomic-resolution crystal structure of a multimeric ring form of a viral dsDNA packaging motor, the ATPase of the asccφ28 phage, and characterize its atomic-level dynamics via long timescale molecular dynamics simulations. Based on these results, and previous single-molecule data and cryo-EM reconstruction of the homologous φ29 motor, we propose an overall packaging model that is driven by helical-to-planar transitions of the ring motor. These transitions are coordinated by inter-subunit interactions that regulate catalytic and force-generating events. Stepwise ATP binding to individual subunits increase their affinity for the helical DNA phosphate backbone, resulting in distortion away from the planar ring towards a helical configuration, inducing mechanical strain. Subsequent sequential hydrolysis events alleviate the accumulated mechanical strain, allowing a stepwise return of the motor to the planar conformation, translocating DNA in the process. This type of helical-to-planar mechanism could serve as a general framework for ring ATPases.","journal":"Nucleic Acids Research","year":2021,"id":168612,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":30,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9373,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":372690,"name":"Erik Dill","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":561226,"name":"Emilio Reyes-Aldrete","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":483492,"name":"Mark A. White","orcid":"0000-0003-1057-4203","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":560494,"name":"Brian A. Kelch","orcid":"0000-0002-1369-6989","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":371053,"name":"Paul J. Jardine","orcid":"0000-0002-1090-0550","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":557018,"name":"Gaurav Arya","orcid":"0000-0002-5615-0521","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":254591,"name":"Marc C. Morais","orcid":"0000-0002-1057-0934","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":557016,"name":"Joshua Pajak","orcid":"0000-0001-5781-0870","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":79,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:46:06.853307Z","pmid":"34050764","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}