Open AccessStructural requirements for RNA editing in hepatitis delta virus: evidence for a uridine-to-cytidine editing mechanism.
Author(s) -
John L. Casey,
Katherine F. Bergmann,
Thomas L. Brown,
John L. Gerin
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.15.7149
Subject(s) - cytidine , rna editing , rna , biology , uridine , nucleotide , context (archaeology) , genetics , viral replication , virology , virus , gene , biochemistry , enzyme , paleontology
Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) nucleotide 1012 is edited from uridine to cytidine in 10-40% of the RNA genomes during replication. This editing event is an important control point in the HDV life cycle because it results in both the packaging of viral RNA and the inhibition of HDV replication. We find that the editing event is highly specific for both the sequences neighboring nucleotide 1012 and the base-paired context of position 1012 within the unbranched rod structure of HDV RNA. Prior studies identified the base transition at nucleotide 1012 but were unable to distinguish between editing of the genomic versus the antigenomic strands [Luo, G. X., Chao, M., Hsieh, S. Y., Sureau, C., Nishikura, K. & Taylor, J. (1990) J. Virol. 64, 1021-1027]. In this study, comparisons of mutations that differentiate between base pairing in genomic and antigenomic RNAs indicate that the genomic strand of HDV is the actual editing substrate. We conclude that the virus uses a uridine to cytidine editing mechanism, which is provided by the host cell.