HIV-1 Gag p15 is processed by the digestion of its precursor Gag p55 by HIV-1 protease. This protein is further digested into nuclocapsid protein p7 and into p6 and p1 of unknown function. This digestion is promoted by the binding of HIV-1 genome RNA and the two Zn finger motifs that exist in the p7 region. The produced nucleocapsid protein p7 regulates the RNA function by directly binding to HIV-1 genome RNA.