Epitranscriptomic Enhancement of Influenza A Virus Gene Expression and Replication.

ABSTRACT: Many viral RNAs are modified by methylation of the N⁶ position of adenosine (m⁶A). m⁶A is thought to regulate RNA splicing, stability, translation, and secondary structure. Influenza A virus (IAV) expresses m⁶A-modified RNAs, but the effects of m⁶A on this segmented RNA virus remain unclear. We demonstrate that global inhibition of m⁶A addition inhibits IAV gene expression and replication. In contrast, overexpression of the cellular m⁶A "reader" protein YTHDF2 increases IAV gene expression and replication. To address whether m⁶A residues modulate IAV RNA function in cis, we mapped m⁶A residues on the IAV plus (mRNA) and minus (vRNA) strands and used synonymous mutations to ablate m⁶

SUBMITTER: Courtney DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5615858 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature