Homology modelling and identification of active site residue in the nucleoprotein of influenza virus through in silico strategy for drug target

Influenza A virus poses a serious threat towards public health globally. Its genome encodes a nucleoprotein (NP) (498-amino acid) which plays a vital role in viral RNA replication and host specificity. Homology modelling was used to generate the 3-D structure of four different strains (H5N1, H6N1, H3N2 and H7N1) using a known protein template crystal structure (PDB code No. 2IQH). The validation of 3-D structure was done with the help of PROCHECK encompassing amino acid residues in the most favoured region of all strains. The identification of catalytic amino acid residue in the active site domain in 3-D structure of NP was also done. The structure and catalytic amino acid residue present in the NP may help to target and design the antiviral drugs against influenza.