The C Protein Is Recruited to Measles Virus Ribonucleocapsids by the Phosphoprotein.

Measles virus (MeV), like all viruses of the order , utilizes a complex consisting of genomic RNA, nucleoprotein, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and a polymerase cofactor, the phosphoprotein (P), for transcription and replication. We previously showed that a recombinant MeV that does not express another viral protein, C, has severe transcription and replication deficiencies, including a steeper transcription gradient than the parental virus and generation of defective interfering RNA. This virus is attenuated and However, how the C protein operates and whether it is a component of the replication complex remained unclear.