Transcription start site heterogeneity and its role in RNA fate determination distinguish HIV-1 from other retroviruses and are mediated by core promoter elements.

ABSTRACT: HIV-1 uses heterogeneous transcription start sites (TSSs) to generate two RNA 5´ isoforms that adopt radically different structures and perform distinct replication functions. Although these RNAs differ in length by only two bases, exclusively, the shorter RNA is encapsidated while the longer RNA is excluded from virions and provides intracellular functions. The current study examined TSS usage and packaging selectivity for a broad range of retroviruses and found that heterogeneous TSS usage was a conserved feature of all tested HIV-1 strains, but all other retroviruses examined displayed unique TSSs. Phylogenetic comparisons and chimeric viruses' properties provided evidence that this mechanism of RNA fate determination was an innovation of the HIV-1 lineage, with determinants mapping to

SUBMITTER: Kharytonchyk S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10537674 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature