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 Leahy, M. B.
Right arrow Articles by Brownlee, G. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Leahy, M. B.
Right arrow Articles by Brownlee, G. G.

Journal of Virology, August 2001, p. 7042-7049, Vol. 75, No. 15
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.15.7042-7049.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Hairpin Loop Structure in the 3' Arm of the Influenza A Virus Virion RNA Promoter Is Required for Endonuclease Activity

Michael B. Leahy, Helen C. Dobbyn,dagger and George G. Brownlee*

Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Received 13 February 2001/Accepted 25 April 2001

Previous studies have shown that the 5' arm of the influenza A virus virion RNA promoter requires a hairpin loop structure for efficient endonuclease activity of influenza virus RNA polymerase, an activity that is required for the cap-snatching activity of primers from host pre-mRNA. Here we examine whether a hairpin loop is also required in the 3' arm of the viral RNA promoter. We study point mutations at each nucleotide position (1 to 12) within the 3' arm of the promoter as well as complementary "rescue" mutations which restored base pairing in the stem of a potential hairpin loop. Our results suggest that endonuclease activity is absolutely dependent on the presence of a 3' hairpin loop structure. This is the first direct evidence for RNA secondary structure within the 3' arm being required for a specific stage, i.e., endonuclease cleavage, in the influenza virus replicative cycle.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Chemical Pathology Unit, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd., Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 1865 275559. Fax: 44 1865 275556. E-mail: George.Brownlee{at}path.ox.ac.uk.

dagger Present address: School of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry Division, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.


Journal of Virology, August 2001, p. 7042-7049, Vol. 75, No. 15
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.15.7042-7049.2001
Copyright © 2001, 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 © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.