Genome circularization and RNA virus replication
Approximately 50 million people are infected with dengue virus each year, resulting in about 24,000 deaths world-wide. Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne member of the flavivirus family, whose other members cause encephalitis, hemorrhagic fevers, and hepatitis.
Dengue virus is a plus strand RNA virus that replicates its genome by a viral-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Dr. Gamarnik and colleagues identified a structure at the 5' end of the RNA genome – what they term the “SLA” – that is recognized by the viral RNA polymerase. The replication machinery is then able, through the circularization of the dengue virus genome, to interact with the 3' initiation site, thousands of nucleotides downstream, and to initiate replication of the dengue virus genome.
The authors hypothesis that “Since similar 5'-3' long-range interactions were observed in many viral RNA genomes, the mechanism proposed for DV may represent a wide-spread strategy for viral RNA replication.”
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.cshl.eduAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Superradiant atoms could push the boundaries of how precisely time can be measured
Superradiant atoms can help us measure time more precisely than ever. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen present a new method for measuring the time interval,…
Ion thermoelectric conversion devices for near room temperature
The electrode sheet of the thermoelectric device consists of ionic hydrogel, which is sandwiched between the electrodes to form, and the Prussian blue on the electrode undergoes a redox reaction…
Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device
New publication reports record electron temperatures for a small-scale, sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion device. In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated…