TY - JOUR
T1 - The polymerase of negative-stranded RNA viruses
AU - Morin, Benjamin
AU - Kranzusch, Philip J.
AU - Rahmeh, Amal A.
AU - Whelan, Sean P.J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge their productive collaboration with Thomas Walz and Andreas Schenk on the electron microscopic analysis of the MACV and VSV L proteins, and Robin Ross and the support of the New England Regional Center for Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease for assistance with protein production. The authors are also grateful to Juan Ortin for insightful discussions on the influenza polymerase. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health AI059371 and AI057159 . SPJW is a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Negative-sense (NS) RNA viruses deliver into cells a megadalton RNA-protein complex competent for transcription. Within this complex, the RNA is protected in a nucleocapsid protein (NP) sheath which the viral polymerase negotiates during RNA synthesis. The NP-RNA templates come as nonsegmented (NNS) or segmented (SNS), necessitating distinct strategies for transcription by their polymerases. Atomic-level understanding of the NP-RNA of both NNS and SNS RNA viruses show that the RNA must be transiently dissociated from NP during RNA synthesis. Here we summarize and compare the polymerases of NNS and SNS RNA viruses, and the current structural data on the polymerases. Those comparisons inform us on the evolution of related RNA synthesis machines which use two distinct mechanisms for mRNA cap formation.
AB - Negative-sense (NS) RNA viruses deliver into cells a megadalton RNA-protein complex competent for transcription. Within this complex, the RNA is protected in a nucleocapsid protein (NP) sheath which the viral polymerase negotiates during RNA synthesis. The NP-RNA templates come as nonsegmented (NNS) or segmented (SNS), necessitating distinct strategies for transcription by their polymerases. Atomic-level understanding of the NP-RNA of both NNS and SNS RNA viruses show that the RNA must be transiently dissociated from NP during RNA synthesis. Here we summarize and compare the polymerases of NNS and SNS RNA viruses, and the current structural data on the polymerases. Those comparisons inform us on the evolution of related RNA synthesis machines which use two distinct mechanisms for mRNA cap formation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84880056645&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.coviro.2013.03.008
DO - 10.1016/j.coviro.2013.03.008
M3 - Review article
C2 - 23602472
AN - SCOPUS:84880056645
SN - 1879-6257
VL - 3
SP - 103
EP - 110
JO - Current Opinion in Virology
JF - Current Opinion in Virology
IS - 2
ER -