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Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells
Published on: January 30, 2019
Circularization of the HIV-1 RNA genome
Marcel Ooms1, Truus E M Abbink, Chi Pham
1Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Genomic RNA circularization has been proposed for several RNA viruses. In this study, we examined if the 5' and 3' ends of the 9-kb HIV-1 RNA genome can interact. In vitro assays demonstrated a specific interaction between transcripts encompassing the 5' and 3' terminal 1 kb, suggesting that the HIV-1 RNA genome can circularize. Truncation of the transcripts indicated that the 5'-3' interaction is formed by 600-700 nt in the gag open reading frame and the terminal 123 nt of the genomic RNA. Detailed RNA structure probing indicates that sequences flanking the 3' TAR hairpin interact with complementary sequences in the gag gene. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that all HIV-1 subtypes can form the 5'/3' interaction despite considerable sequence divergence, suggesting an important role of RNA circularization in the HIV-1 replication cycle.
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