Complementarity-directed RNA dimer-linkage promotes retroviral recombination in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Retroviral particles contain a dimeric RNA genome, which serves as template for the generation of double-stranded DNA by reverse transcription. Transfer between RNA strands during DNA synthesis is governed by both sequence similarity between templates and structural features of the dimeric RNA. A kissing hairpin, believed to facilitate intermolecular recognition and dimer formation, was previously found to be a preferred site for recombination. To investigate if hairpin loop-loop-complementarity is the primary determinant for this recombination preference, we have devised a novel 5' leader recombination assay based upon co-packaging of two wild-type or loop-modified murine leukemia virus vector RNAs. We found that insertion of an alternative palindromic loop in one of the two vectors disru

SUBMITTER: Mikkelsen JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC373270 | biostudies-literature | 2004

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature