JVI Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Yu, H.
Right arrow Articles by Behrens, S.-E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Yu, H.
Right arrow Articles by Behrens, S.-E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 5825-5835, Vol. 74, No. 13
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

A Stem-Loop Motif Formed by the Immediate 5' Terminus of the Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Genome Modulates Translation as well as Replication of the Viral RNA

Haiying Yu, Olaf Isken, Claus W. Grassmann, and Sven-Erik Behrens*

Institut für Virologie (FB Veterinärmedizin), Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, D-35392 Giessen, Germany

Received 16 November 1999/Accepted 12 April 2000

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a Pestivirus member of the Flaviviridae family, has a positive-stranded RNA genome which consists of a single open reading frame (ORF) and untranslated regions (UTRs) at the 5' and 3' ends. The 5' UTR harbors extensive RNA structure motifs; most of them were shown to contribute to an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES), which mediates cap-independent translation of the ORF. The extreme 5'-terminal region of the BVDV genome had so far been believed not to be required for IRES function. By structure probing techniques, we initially verified the existence of a computer-predicted stem-loop motif at the 5' end of the viral genome (hairpin Ia) as well as at the 3' end of the complementary negative-strand replication intermediate [termed hairpin Ia (-)]. While the stem of this structure is mainly constituted of nucleotides that are conserved among pestiviruses, the loop region is predominantly composed of variable residues. Taking a reverse genetics approach to a subgenomic BVDV replicon RNA (DI9c) which could be equally employed in a translation as well as replication assay system based on BHK-21 cells, we obtained the following results. (i) Proper folding of the Ia stem was found to be crucial for efficient translation. Thus, in the context of an authentic replication-competent viral RNA, the 5'-terminal motif operates apparently as an integral functional part of the ribosome entry. (ii) An intact loop structure and a stretch of nucleotide residues that constitute a portion of the stem of the Ia or the Ia (-) motif, respectively, were defined to represent important determinants of the RNA replication pathway. (iii) Formation of the stem structure of the Ia (-) motif was determined to be not critical for RNA replication. In summary, our findings affirmed that the 5'-terminal region of the BVDV genome encodes a bifunctional secondary structure motif which may enable the viral RNA to switch from the translation to the replicative cycle and vice versa.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Virologie (FB Veterinärmedizin), Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 107, D-35392 Giessen, Germany. Phone: 496419938373. Fax: 496419938359. E-mail: Sven-Erik.Behrens{at}vetmed.uni-giessen.de.

Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 5825-5835, Vol. 74, No. 13
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Mol. Cell. Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.