Structural Basis for a Species-Specific Determinant of an SIV Vif Protein toward Hominid APOBEC3G Antagonism (Cell Host & Microbe)

Lentiviral transmission from Old World monkeys to hominid primates requires adaptations of viral Vif to hominid APOBEC3s. Binning et al. present the crystal structure of the SIVrcm Vif complex, providing insight into evolutionary requirements for cross-species transmission of SIV into hominid primates that underlie the origins of HIV-1 in humans.