Mapping overlapping functional elements embedded within the protein-coding regions of RNA viruses.

ABSTRACT: Identification of the full complement of genes and other functional elements in any virus is crucial to fully understand its molecular biology and guide the development of effective control strategies. RNA viruses have compact multifunctional genomes that frequently contain overlapping genes and non-coding functional elements embedded within protein-coding sequences. Overlapping features often escape detection because it can be difficult to disentangle the multiple roles of the constituent nucleotides via mutational analyses, while high-throughput experimental techniques are often unable to distinguish functional elements from incidental features. However, RNA viruses evolve very rapidly so that, even within a single species, substitutions rapidly accumulate at neutral or near-neutral site

SUBMITTER: Firth AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4227794 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature