Genomic RNAs of Borna disease virus are elongated on internal template motifs after realignment of the 3' termini.

ABSTRACT: The terminal structures of the Borna disease virus (BDV) genome (vRNA) and antigenome (cRNA) differ from those of other negative strand RNA viruses, as both molecules possess four nucleotides at the 3' terminus without an apparent template at the 5' end of the opposite strand. Consequently, the v- and cRNA molecules are not perfect mirror images, a situation that is not compatible with conventional strategies to maintain genetic information. We show here that recombinant viruses recovered from cDNA lacking the nontemplated nucleotides efficiently reconstitute the 3' overhangs. Analyses of recombinant viruses encoding genetic markers in potential alternative template sequences demonstrated that the BDV v- and cRNA molecules are extended by a realign-and-elongation process on internal templa

SUBMITTER: Martin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3084138 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature