Drosophila A virus is an unusual RNA virus with a T=3 icosahedral core and permuted RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

ABSTRACT: The vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a popular model for the study of invertebrate antiviral immune responses. Several picorna-like viruses are commonly found in both wild and laboratory populations of D. melanogaster. The best-studied and most pathogenic of these is the dicistrovirus Drosophila C virus. Among the uncharacterized small RNA viruses of D. melanogaster, Drosophila A virus (DAV) is the least pathogenic. Historically, DAV has been labelled as a picorna-like virus based on its particle size and the content of its RNA genome. Here, we describe the characterization of both the genome and the virion structure of DAV. Unexpectedly, the DAV genome was shown to encode a circular permutation in the palm-domain motifs of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. This arrangement has onl

SUBMITTER: Ambrose RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2742409 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature