Inter- and intramolecular RNA–RNA interactions modulate the regulation of translation mediated by the 3′ UTR in west nile virus

RNA viruses rely on genomic structural elements to accomplish the functions necessary to complete the viral cycle. These elements participate in a dynamic network of RNA–RNA interactions that determine the overall folding of the RNA genome and may be responsible for the fine regulation of viral repl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Romero-López, Cristina, Roda Herreros, Margarita, Berzal-Herranz, Beatriz, Ramos-Lorente, Sara Esther, Berzal-Herranz, Alfredo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/307978
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/307978
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:RNA–RNA interactions
West Nile virus
Flavivirus translation
3′ UTR
RNA virus
RNA dimerization
Descripción
Sumario:RNA viruses rely on genomic structural elements to accomplish the functions necessary to complete the viral cycle. These elements participate in a dynamic network of RNA–RNA interactions that determine the overall folding of the RNA genome and may be responsible for the fine regulation of viral replication and translation as well as the transition between them. The genomes of members of the genus Flavivirus are characterized by a complexly folded 3′ UTR with a number of RNA structural elements that are conserved across isolates of each species. The present work provides evidence of intra- and intermolecular RNA–RNA interactions involving RNA structural elements in the 3′ UTR of the West Nile virus genome. The intermolecular interactions can be visualized in vitro by the formation of molecular dimers involving the participation of at least the SLI and 3′DB elements. Certainly, the 3′ UTR of dengue virus, which lacks the SLI element, forms molecular dimers in lower quantities via a single interaction site, probably 3′DB. The functional analysis of sequence or deletion mutants revealed an inverse relationship between 3′ UTR dimerization and viral translation efficiency in cell cultures. A network of RNA–RNA interactions involving 3′ UTR structural elements might therefore exist, helping to regulate viral translation.