- Crystal structure of Bcl-2 from lymphocystis disease virus 2 in complex with the BH3 domain of zebrafish BaxA
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Dahwan Lim, So Hyeon Park, Joon Sig Choi, Ho-Chul Shin, Seung Jun Kim, Bonsu Ku
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Received December 9, 2025 Accepted March 5, 2026 Published online April 23, 2026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.71150/jm.2512006
[Epub ahead of print]
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Abstract
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Lymphocystis disease viruses (LCDVs), members of the Lymphocystivirus genus of the Iridoviridae family, infect various freshwater and marine fish species. They cause the chronic disease lymphocystis, which is non-fatal, but substantially reduces the commercial value of the infected fish. To date, four genotypes of LCDV (LCDV1–4) have been identified, all of which encode the viral homologue of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), a key inhibitor of apoptosis. In this study, we performed biochemical and structural analyses of LCDV2 Bcl-2. Binding assays revealed that LCDV2 Bcl-2 exhibits binding selectivity toward BH3 domain-containing zebrafish proteins. It interacted with zBaxA and zNoxa, but not with zBaxB, zBid, or zBeclin 1, distinguishing it from mammalian and herpesviral Bcl-2 proteins. Subsequent structural determination of LCDV2 Bcl-2 in complex with the BH3 domain of zBaxA demonstrated that they interact in a canonical manner, primarily mediated by the BH3 consensus motif residues of zBaxA. In addition, a subpocket formed by two phenylalanine residues in LCDV2 Bcl-2 plays a key role in determining binding selectivity.
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