Inclusion bodies are a characteristic feature of ebolavirus infections in cells. They contain large numbers of preformed nucleocapsids, but their biological significance has been debated, and they have been suggested to be aggregates of viral proteins without any further biological function. However, recent data for other viruses that produce similar structures have suggested that inclusion bodies might be involved in genome replication and transcription. In order to study filovirus inclusion bodies, we fused mCherry to the ebolavirus polymerase L, which is found in inclusion bodies. The resulting L-mCherry fusion protein was functional in minigenome assays and incorporated into virus-like particles. Importantly, L-mCherry fluorescence in transfected cells was readily detectable and distributed in a punctate pattern characteristic for inclusion bodies. A recombinant ebolavirus encoding L-mCherry instead of L was rescued and showed virtually identical growth kinetics and endpoint titers to those for wild-type virus. Using this virus, we showed that the onset of inclusion body formation corresponds to the onset of viral genome replication, but that viral transcription occurs prior to inclusion body formation. Live-cell imaging further showed that inclusion bodies are highly dynamic structures and that they can undergo dramatic reorganization during cell division. Finally, by labeling nascent RNAs using click technology we showed that inclusion bodies are indeed the site of viral RNA synthesis. Based on these data we conclude that, rather than being inert aggregates of nucleocapsids, ebolavirus inclusion bodies are in fact complex and dynamic structures and an important site at which viral RNA replication takes place.

Virus entry into host cells is the first step of infection and a crucial determinant of pathogenicity. Here we show that Ebola virus-like particles (EBOV-VLPs) composed of the glycoprotein GP_1,2 and the matrix protein VP40 use macropinocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis to enter cells. EBOV-VLPs applied to host cells induced actin-driven ruffling and enhanced FITC-dextran uptake, which indicated macropinocytosis as the main entry mechanism. This was further supported by inhibition of entry through inhibitors of actin polymerization (latrunculin A), Na⁺/H⁺-exchanger (EIPA), and PI3-kinase (wortmannin). A fraction of EBOV-VLPs, however, colocalized with clathrin heavy chain (CHC), and VLP uptake was reduced by CHC small interfering RNA transfection and expression of the dominant negative dynamin II–K44A mutant. In contrast, we found no evidence that EBOV-VLPs enter cells via caveolae. This work identifies macropinocytosis as the major, and clathrin-dependent endocytosis as an alternative, entry route for EBOV particles. Therefore, EBOV seems to utilize different entry pathways depending on both cell type and virus particle size.

Rapid sequencing of RNA/DNA from pathogen samples obtained during disease outbreaks provides critical scientific and public health information. However, challenges exist for exporting samples to laboratories or establishing conventional sequencers in remote outbreak regions. We successfully used a novel, pocket-sized nanopore sequencer at a field diagnostic laboratory in Liberia during the current Ebola virus outbreak.

Work with infectious Ebola viruses is restricted to biosafety level 4 (BSL4) laboratories, presenting a significant barrier for studying these viruses. Life cycle modeling systems, including minigenome systems and transcription- and replication-competent virus-like particle (trVLP) systems, allow modeling of the virus life cycle under BSL2 conditions; however, all current systems model only certain aspects of the virus life cycle, rely on plasmid-based viral protein expression, and have been used to model only single infectious cycles. We have developed a novel life cycle modeling system allowing continuous passaging of infectious trVLPs containing a tetracistronic minigenome that encodes a reporter and the viral proteins VP40, VP24, and GP _1,2 . This system is ideally suited for studying morphogenesis, budding, and entry, in addition to genome replication and transcription. Importantly, the specific infectivity of trVLPs in this system was ∼500-fold higher than that in previous systems. Using this system for functional studies of VP24, we showed that, contrary to previous reports, VP24 only very modestly inhibits genome replication and transcription when expressed in a regulated fashion, which we confirmed using infectious Ebola viruses. Interestingly, we also discovered a genome length-dependent effect of VP24 on particle infectivity, which was previously undetected due to the short length of monocistronic minigenomes and which is due at least partially to a previously unknown function of VP24 in RNA packaging. Based on our findings, we propose a model for the function of VP24 that reconciles all currently available data regarding the role of VP24 in nucleocapsid assembly as well as genome replication and transcription. IMPORTANCE Ebola viruses cause severe hemorrhagic fevers in humans, with no countermeasures currently being available, and must be studied in maximum-containment laboratories. Only a few of these laboratories exist worldwide, limiting our ability to study Ebola viruses and develop countermeasures. Here we report the development of a novel reverse genetics-based system that allows the study of Ebola viruses without maximum-containment laboratories. We used this system to investigate the Ebola virus protein VP24, showing that, contrary to previous reports, it only modestly inhibits virus genome replication and transcription but is important for packaging of genomes into virus particles, which constitutes a previously unknown function of VP24 and a potential antiviral target. We further propose a comprehensive model for the function of VP24 in nucleocapsid assembly. Importantly, on the basis of this approach, it should easily be possible to develop similar experimental systems for other viruses that are currently restricted to maximum-containment laboratories.

Evolution in the Ebola virus outbreak: Has rapid mutation produced alarming new virus characteristics in the 2013–2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa? Hoenen et al. sequenced isolates obtained 9 months into the epidemic from cases in Mali. The nucleotide substitution rate was consistent with rates estimated from past Central African outbreaks. In contrast, analysis of sequence data from early in the outbreak indicated rapid mutation. This more recent finding offers confidence that diagnostic methods, vaccines, and other treatment interventions will remain effective. Nevertheless, vigilance must be maintained: A few mutations can radically change the biological properties of other RNA viruses. Science , this issue p. 117