S2 is an accessory protein of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), the f
unction of which is unknown. In order to gain insight into the function of
S2, the intracellular localization of the protein, its interaction with vir
al proteins and its incorporation into viral particles have been investigat
ed. Immunolocalization of S2 revealed punctate staining in the cytoplasm an
d the S2 protein coprecipitated with the EIAV Gag precursor. Despite overex
pression of S2 through the use of a codon-optimized sequence, there was no
preferential association of S2 with EIAV particles. These data suggest that
S2 may function to organize the Gag protein during particle assembly in th
e cytoplasm but that it is unlikely to be involved in the early stages of t
he virus life-cycle.