Rotavirus RNA replication requires a single-stranded 3' end for efficient minus-strand synthesis.

ABSTRACT: The segmented double-stranded (ds) RNA genome of the rotaviruses is replicated asymmetrically, with viral mRNA serving as the template for the synthesis of minus-strand RNA. Previous studies with cell-free replication systems have shown that the highly conserved termini of rotavirus gene 8 and 9 mRNAs contain cis-acting signals that promote the synthesis of dsRNA. Based on the location of the cis-acting signals and computer modeling of their secondary structure, the ends of the gene 8 or 9 mRNAs are proposed to interact in cis to form a modified panhandle structure that promotes the synthesis of dsRNA. In this structure, the last 11 to 12 nucleotides of the RNA, including the cis-acting signal that is essential for RNA replication, extend as a single-stranded tail from the panhandled regio

SUBMITTER: Chen D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC109963 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature