Coronaviruses are the causative agents of respiratory disease in humans and animals, including severe acute respiratory syndrome. Fusion of coronaviruses is generally thought to occur at neutral pH, although there is also evidence for a role of acidic endosomes during entry of a variety of coronaviruses. Therefore, the molecular basis of coronavirus fusion during entry into host cells remains i...

The fusion reaction mediated by viral envelope glycoproteins proceeds through an ordered series of conformational changes in the envelope glycoprotein. Fusion inhibitors have been developed that target glycoprotein subunits, arresting the reaction at different points in the process. We report the development of a novel method for detecting viral glycoprotein-mediated fusion that is based on the...

PETER MINKOWSKI Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Bern CH 3012 Bern, Switzerland We discuss the production of the standard Higgs scalar in the reaction e e ! e e X mediated by ZZ or fusion. It provides even sensitivity for a wide band of scalar masses < 1=3ps. 1. The Z{Z Fusion Process e e ! e e h We consider the production of a standard scalar or for the case of several doublets...

The yeast SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor) protein Ykt6 was shown to mediate palmitoylation of the fusion factor Vac8 in a reaction essential for the fusion of vacuoles. Here I present evidence that hYkt6 (human Ykt6) has self-palmitoylating activity. Incubation of recombinant hYkt6 with [3H]Pal-CoA ([3H]palmitoyl-CoA) leads to covalent attac...

This paper describes an electrofusion device for controlling the precise moment of fusion between droplets by applying an electric field. This device allows (i) accurate determination of the start of chemical/biological reactions, (ii) minimum contact of reactants with channel walls--eliminating surface absorption problems, (iii) easy fabrication and (iv) continuous observation of initiated rea...

Semliki Forest virus (SFV) infects cells by an acid-dependent membrane fusion reaction catalyzed by the virus spike protein, a complex containing E1 and E2 transmembrane subunits. E1 carries the putative virus fusion peptide, and mutations in this domain of the spike protein were previously shown to shift the pH threshold of cell-cell fusion (G91A), or block cell-cell fusion (G91D). We have use...