Novel cis-acting element within the capsid-coding region enhances flavivirus viral-RNA replication by regulating genome cyclization.

Abstract:

:cis-Acting elements in the viral genome RNA (vRNA) are essential for the translation, replication, and/or encapsidation of RNA viruses. In this study, a novel conserved cis-acting element was identified in the capsid-coding region of mosquito-borne flavivirus. The downstream of 5' cyclization sequence (5'CS) pseudoknot (DCS-PK) element has a three-stem pseudoknot structure, as demonstrated by structure prediction and biochemical analysis. Using dengue virus as a model, we show that DCS-PK enhances vRNA replication and that its function depends on its secondary structure and specific primary sequence. Mutagenesis revealed that the highly conserved stem 1 and loop 2, which are involved in potential loop-helix interactions, are crucial for DCS-PK function. A predicted loop 1-stem 3 base triple interaction is important for the structural stability and function of DCS-PK. Moreover, the function of DCS-PK depends on its position relative to the 5'CS, and the presence of DCS-PK facilitates the formation of 5'-3' RNA complexes. Taken together, our results reveal that the cis-acting element DCS-PK enhances vRNA replication by regulating genome cyclization, and DCS-PK might interplay with other cis-acting elements to form a functional vRNA cyclization domain, thus playing critical roles during the flavivirus life cycle and evolution.

journal_name

J Virol

journal_title

Journal of virology

authors

Liu ZY,Li XF,Jiang T,Deng YQ,Zhao H,Wang HJ,Ye Q,Zhu SY,Qiu Y,Zhou X,Qin ED,Qin CF

doi

10.1128/JVI.00243-13

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2013-06-01 00:00:00

pages

6804-18

issue

12

eissn

0022-538X

issn

1098-5514

pii

JVI.00243-13

journal_volume

87

pub_type

杂志文章