Conserved tegument protein complexes: Essential components in the assembly of herpesviruses

•Tegument proteins are essential for the assembly of herpesviruses.•Tegument forms a dynamic bridge between inner and outer viral components.•Key interactions involve conserved tegument proteins pUL11, pUL16, pUL36 and pUL37.

One of the structural components of herpesviruses is a protein layer called the tegument. Several of the tegument proteins are highly conserved across the herpesvirus family and serve as a logical focus for defining critical interactions required for viral assembly. A number of studies have helped to elucidate a role for conserved tegument proteins in the process of secondary envelopment during the course of herpesviral assembly. This review highlights how these tegument proteins directly contribute to bridging the nucleocapsid and envelope of virions during secondary envelopment.