A multimeric pore complex in the poxvirus core revealed by integrative structural analysis

It has long been known that poxviruses transcribe more than a hundred early mRNAs within their viral core, yet how these transcripts exit the core remains unknown. Here, we combine cryo-electron tomography with deep-learning-based particle picking, subtomogram averaging, cross-linking mass spectrometry, and AlphaFold3 modeling to resolve the molecular architecture of a long-sought pore within the poxvirus core. The pore is formed by a heteromeric assembly of the viral proteins E8, E6, and L3, which together create a hollow hexameric tube spanning both the core wall and the surface-exposed palisade layer. Within the pore channel, we observe a rod-like density consistent with the viral RNA helicase I8, which may contribute to the release of the newly synthesized viral mRNAs from the core. We further observe a state of the pore lacking the outer and basal rings under transcription conditions. Together, our findings identify the structure and dynamics of a candidate mRNA-release pore within the surface layer of a double-stranded DNA virus and suggest that it may form part of the poxvirus transcription machinery.