Functional analysis of the tick-borne encephalitis virus cyclization elements indicates major differences between mosquito-borne and tick-borne flaviviruses.

ABSTRACT: The linear, positive-stranded RNA genome of flaviviruses is thought to adopt a circularized conformation via interactions of short complementary sequence elements located within its terminal regions. This process of RNA cyclization is a crucial precondition for RNA replication. In the case of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, highly conserved cyclization sequences (CS) have been identified, and their functionality has been experimentally confirmed. Here, we provide an experimental identification of CS elements of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). These elements, termed 5'-CS-A and 3'-CS-A, are conserved among various tick-borne flaviviruses, but they are unrelated to the mosquito-borne CS elements and are located at different genomic positions. The 5'-CS-A element is situated upstream rathe

SUBMITTER: Kofler RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1440478 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature