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Extended poly(A) tails are a shared feature of herpesvirus mRNAs

Erik Fuhrmann1,2, Sae Toda1,3, Jonas Leins1

  • 1Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|December 25, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Herpesviruses utilize unusually long poly(A) tails on their messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to enhance gene expression. This extended polyadenylation, unlike in other viruses, provides a significant advantage during infection.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Virology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Poly(A) tails are crucial for mRNA stability, translation, and regulation.
  • Most cellular and viral mRNAs possess poly(A) tails, but their lengths vary.
  • Herpesviruses are known for complex gene expression strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate poly(A) tail length distribution on viral and cellular mRNAs during various viral infections.
  • To compare poly(A) tail lengths across different virus families, including Herpesviridae.
  • To understand the role of poly(A) tail length in herpesviral gene expression advantage.

Main Methods:

  • Nanopore direct RNA sequencing was employed to analyze poly(A) tail lengths.
  • Comparative analysis of poly(A) tail distributions on cellular and viral mRNAs.
  • Investigation across Herpesviridae, coronavirus, and poxvirus infections.

Main Results:

  • Herpesvirus mRNAs exhibit significantly longer poly(A) tails compared to cellular and other viral mRNAs.
  • Poly(A) tail lengths of coronaviruses and poxviruses are more similar to host mRNAs.
  • Herpesviral noncoding RNAs show varied poly(A) tailing patterns, and individual mRNAs display dynamic tail length changes.
  • Mixed nucleotide content in herpesviral poly(A) tails was insufficient to explain the extended lengths.

Conclusions:

  • Extended poly(A) tails on herpesvirus mRNAs represent a widespread mechanism enhancing viral gene expression.
  • This finding highlights a novel strategy employed by herpesviruses to gain a competitive advantage.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the uncharacterized regulatory mechanisms governing herpesviral poly(A) tail lengths.

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