Extended poly(A) tails are a shared feature of herpesvirus mRNAs.

ABSTRACT: Poly(A) tails are present on most cellular and viral mRNAs, providing a platform for poly(A)-binding proteins that stimulate translation and regulate the deadenylation and stability of transcripts in the cytoplasm. Here we leverage nanopore direct RNA sequencing to analyse the distribution of poly(A) tail lengths on cellular and viral mRNAs across Herpesviridae and other DNA and RNA virus infections. We find that herpesvirus mRNA poly(A) tails are consistently longer than those on cellular and other viral transcripts, presenting a previously unrecognized yet widespread mechanism to advantage herpesviral gene expression. This contrasts with the templated poly(A) tails on coronavirus RNAs and those on cytoplasmically transcribed poxviral mRNAs, which are more similar in length to those on ho

SUBMITTER: Fuhrmann E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12724458 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature