The biased nucleotide composition of the HIV genome: a constant factor in a highly variable virus.

ABSTRACT: Viruses often deviate from their hosts in the nucleotide composition of their genomes. The RNA genome of the lentivirus family of retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), contains e.g. an above average percentage of adenine (A) nucleotides, while being extremely poor in cytosine (C). Such a deviant base composition has implications for the amino acids that are encoded by the open reading frames (ORFs), both in the requirement of specific tRNA species and in the preference for amino acids encoded by e.g. A-rich codons. Nucleotide composition does obviously affect the secondary and tertiary structure of the RNA genome and its biological functions, but it does also influence phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences, and possibly the activity of the integrated DNA pro

SUBMITTER: van der Kuyl AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3511177 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature