Structure-Altering Mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 Frame Shifting RNA Element.

ABSTRACT: With the rapid rate of Covid-19 infections and deaths, treatments and cures besides hand washing, social distancing, masks, isolation, and quarantines are urgently needed. The treatments and vaccines rely on the basic biophysics of the complex viral apparatus. While proteins are serving as main drug and vaccine targets, therapeutic approaches targeting the 30,000 nucleotide RNA viral genome form important complementary approaches. Indeed, the high conservation of the viral genome, its close evolutionary relationship to other viruses, and the rise of gene editing and RNA-based vaccines all argue for a focus on the RNA agent itself. One of the key steps in the viral replication cycle inside host cells is the ribosomal frameshifting required for translation of overlapping open reading frames.

SUBMITTER: Schlick T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7457599 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature