[The structural protein Gag of the gypsy retrovirus forms virus-like particles in the bacterial cell].

The amino acid sequence of the drosophila retrovirus MDG4 (gypsy) structural protein Gag does not contain a canonical motif known for the majority of vertebrate retroviruses. Moreover, the protein translation can theoretically begin with two separated initiation codons located within its unique open reading frame. We designed constructs for expression of two theoretically possible variants of Gag polypeptide and investigated an ability of the each product to form virus-like particles in the bacterial cell, i.e. in the absence of eukaryotic cell factors. The results obtained showed that the both variants of the gypsy protein Gag form globular particles in the bacterial cell.