Replication enhancer elements within the open reading frame of tick-borne encephalitis virus and their evolution within the Flavivirus genus.

ABSTRACT: We provide experimental evidence of a replication enhancer element (REE) within the capsid gene of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV, genus Flavivirus). Thermodynamic and phylogenetic analyses predicted that the REE folds as a long stable stem-loop (designated SL6), conserved among all tick-borne flaviviruses (TBFV). Homologous sequences and potential base pairing were found in the corresponding regions of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, but not in more genetically distant flaviviruses. To investigate the role of SL6, nucleotide substitutions were introduced which changed a conserved hexanucleotide motif, the conformation of the terminal loop and the base-paired dsRNA stacking. Substitutions were made within a TBEV reverse genetic system and recovered mutants were compared for plaque morpho

SUBMITTER: Tuplin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3303483 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature