Rhabdovirus assembly and budding

Rhabdoviruses are a diverse, widely-distributed group of enveloped viruses that assemble and bud from the plasma membrane of host cells. Recent advances in the identification of domains on both the envelope glycoprotein and the matrix protein of rhabdoviruses that contribute to virus assembly and release have allowed us to refine current models of rhabdovirus budding and to describe in better detail the interplay between both viral and cellular components involved in the budding process. In this review we discuss the steps involved in rhabdovirus assembly beginning with genome encapsidation and the association of nucleocapsid-matrix protein pre-assembly complexes with the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, how condensation of these complexes may occur, how microdomains containing the envelope glycoprotein facilitate bud site formation, and how multiple forms of the matrix protein may participate in virion extrusion and release.