Dynamic interactions of retroviral Gag condensates with nascent viral RNA at transcriptional burst sites: implications for genomic RNA packaging.

ABSTRACT: Retroviruses cause significant diseases in humans and animals, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and a wide range of malignancies. A crucial yet poorly understood step in the replication cycle is the recognition and selection of unspliced viral RNA (USvRNA) by the retroviral Gag protein, which binds to the psi (Ψ) packaging sequence in the 5' leader to package it as genomic RNA (gRNA) into nascent virions. It was previously thought that Gag initially bound gRNA in the cytoplasm. However, previous studies demonstrated that the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag protein traffics transiently through the nucleus, which is necessary for efficient gRNA packaging. These data formed a strong premise for the hypothesis that Gag selects nascent gRNA at transcription sites in the nucleus, the hi

SUBMITTER: Kaddis Maldonado RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12421996 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature