Recent insights into the structure and function of coronavirus ribonucleases

Abstract

Coronaviruses use approximately two‐thirds of their 30‐kb genomes to encode nonstructural proteins (nsps) with diverse functions that assist in viral replication and transcription, and evasion of the host immune response. The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has led to renewed interest in the molecular mechanisms used by coronaviruses to infect cells and replicate. Among the 16 Nsps involved in replication and transcription, coronaviruses encode two ribonucleases that process the viral RNA—an exonuclease (Nsp14) and an endonuclease (Nsp15). In this review, we discuss recent structural and biochemical studies of these nucleases and the implications for drug discovery.

Keywords

• coronaviruses
• drug design
• endonucleases
• exonucleases
• SARS‐CoV‐2
• structural biology