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Journal of Virology, April 2007, p. 3285-3292, Vol. 81, No. 7
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.02025-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

An Extended Stem-Loop 1 Is Necessary for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Replication and Affects Genomic RNA Encapsidation

Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812

Received 15 September 2006/ Accepted 5 January 2007

Genomic RNA encapsidation in lentiviruses is a highly selective and regulated process. The unspliced RNA molecules are selected for encapsidation from a pool of many different viral and cellular RNA species. Moreover, two molecules are encapsidated per viral particle, where they are found associated as a dimer. In this study, we demonstrate that a 10-nucleotide palindromic sequence (pal) located at the 3' end of the encapsidation signal is critical for human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) replication and affects genomic RNA encapsidation. We used short-term and long-term culture of pal-mutated viruses in permissive C8166 cells and their phenotypic reversion to show the existence of a structurally extended SL1 during HIV-2 replication, formed by the interaction of the 3' end of the pal within with a motif located downstream of SL1. The stem extending HIV-2 SL1 is structurally similar to stem B described for HIV-1 SL1. Despite the high degree of phylogenetic conservation, these results show that mutant viruses are viable when the autocomplementary nature of the pal sequence is disrupted, but not without a stable stem B. Our observations show that formation of the extended SL1 is necessary during viral replication and positively affects HIV-2 genomic RNA encapsidation. Sequestration of part of the packaging signal into SL1 may be a means of regulating its presentation during the replication cycle.

Published ahead of print on 17 January 2007.

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