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Revisiting Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Recent Structural Studies
Kavitha Ramaswamy1, Mariya Rashid2, Selvarajan Ramasamy3
1Department of Biotechnology, Anna University, Sardar Patel Road, Guindy, Chennai 600025, India.
Abstract:
RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) represent a distinctive yet versatile class of nucleic acid polymerases encoded by RNA viruses for the replication and transcription of their genome. The structure of the RdRP is comparable to that of a cupped right hand consisting of fingers, palm, and thumb subdomains. Despite the presence of a common structural core, the RdRPs differ significantly in the mechanistic details of RNA binding and polymerization. The present review aims at exploring these incongruities in light of recent structural studies of RdRP complexes with diverse cofactors, RNA moieties, analogs, and inhibitors.
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