() Schematic representation of the cleavage steps that release the three forms of NC protein from Gag during viral maturation

Copyright information:Taken from "Nucleic acid binding and chaperone properties of HIV-1 Gag and nucleocapsid proteins"Nucleic Acids Research 2006;34(2):593-605.Published online 30 Jan 2006PMCID:PMC1356529.© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved Primary, secondary and tertiary cleavage sites are indicated by the numbered arrows, respectively. () Amino acid sequence of NCp7 (1–55) including its two-CCHC-zinc finger structures. NCp7 has 15 positive residues [5 arginines (R) and 10 lysines (K)] and two aromatic residues (Phe16 and Trp37). In addition, NCp9 (1–71) and NCp15 (1–123) have additional domains in the C-terminus which contain several aromatic residues, whose fluorescence, however, is not quenched upon binding of these proteins to nucleic acid.