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Journal of Virology, November 2004, p. 12129-12139, Vol. 78, No. 22
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.22.12129-12139.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Nonrandom Dimerization of Murine Leukemia Virus Genomic RNAs

Jessica A. Flynn,1,2 Wenfeng An,1 Steven R. King,1 and Alice Telesnitsky1,2*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology,1 Cellular Biotechnology Training Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan2

Received 2 February 2004/ Accepted 7 July 2004

Retroviral genomes consist of two unspliced RNAs linked noncovalently in a dimer. Although these two RNAs are generally identical, two different RNAs can be copackaged when virions are produced by coinfected cells. It has been assumed, but not tested, that copackaging results from random RNA associations in the cytoplasm to yield encapsidated RNA homodimers and heterodimers in Hardy-Weinberg proportions. Here, virion RNA homo- and heterodimerization were examined for Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) using nondenaturing Northern blotting and a novel RNA dimer capture assay. The results demonstrated that coexpressed MLV RNAs preferentially self-associated, even when RNAs were identical in known packaging and dimerization sequences or when they differed overall by less than 0.1%. In contrast, HIV-1 RNAs formed homo- and heterodimers in random proportions. We speculate that these species-specific differences in RNA dimer partner selection may at least partially explain the higher frequency of genetic recombination observed for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 than for MLV.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, 1150 W. Medical Center Dr., Room 5641, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor MI 48109-0620. Phone: (734) 936-6466. Fax: (734) 764-3562. E-mail: ateles{at}umich.edu.

Journal of Virology, November 2004, p. 12129-12139, Vol. 78, No. 22
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.22.12129-12139.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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