RNA Structures and Their Role in Selective Genome Packaging
Liqing Ye,
Uddhav B. Ambi,
Marco Olguin-Nava,
Anne-Sophie Gribling-Burrer,
Shazeb Ahmad,
Patrick Bohn,
Melanie M. Weber,
Redmond P. Smyth
Affiliations
Liqing Ye
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Uddhav B. Ambi
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Marco Olguin-Nava
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Anne-Sophie Gribling-Burrer
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Shazeb Ahmad
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Patrick Bohn
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Melanie M. Weber
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Redmond P. Smyth
Genome Architecture and Evolution of RNA Viruses, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
To generate infectious viral particles, viruses must specifically select their genomic RNA from milieu that contains a complex mixture of cellular or non-genomic viral RNAs. In this review, we focus on the role of viral encoded RNA structures in genome packaging. We first discuss how packaging signals are constructed from local and long-range base pairings within viral genomes, as well as inter-molecular interactions between viral and host RNAs. Then, how genome packaging is regulated by the biophysical properties of RNA. Finally, we examine the impact of RNA packaging signals on viral evolution.
