p24

HIV1 performs highly complex orchestrated tasks during the assembly, budding, maturation and infection stages of the viral replication cycle. During viral assembly, the proteins form membrane associations and self-associations that ultimately result in budding of an immature virion from the infected cell. Gag precursors also function during viral assembly to selectively bind and package two plus strands of genomic RNA. Capsid protein p24 probably forms the conical core of the virus that encapsulates the genomic RNA-nucleocapsid complex.