Expression of the Nucleocapsid Protein (N) from SARS-CoV 2 and its Characterization through High-Field NMR Spectroscopy

The SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) protein is a 419-amino-acid multidomain protein involved in viral RNA packaging. It includes structured domains (NTD, CTD) and three intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). This study focuses on characterizing the full-length (FL) N protein and its RNA interaction, comparing it to simpler constructs like NTD and NTR. Previous studies show that IDRs enhance RNA binding. The full-length dimeric form is expected to further increase affinity via synergistic effects. We report recent findings on FL N, including its expression, purification, and structural analysis via NMR.