Positive strand RNA viruses differ in the constraints they place on the folding of their negative strand.

ABSTRACT: Genome replication of positive strand RNA viruses requires the production of a complementary negative strand RNA that serves as a template for synthesis of more positive strand progeny. Structural RNA elements are important for genome replication, but while they are readily observed in the positive strand, evidence of their existence in the negative strand is more limited. We hypothesized that this was due to viruses differing in their capacity to allow this latter RNA to adopt structural folds. To investigate this, ribozymes were introduced into the negative strand of different viral constructs; the expectation being that if RNA folding occurred, negative strand cleavage and suppression of replication would be seen. Indeed, this was what happened with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and feline ca

SUBMITTER: Herod MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9479745 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature