The small genome segment of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus harbours a single transcription-termination signal
Abstract
Transcription termination of the mRNA produced from the small (S) genome segment of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus (BUNV) has previously been mapped to two cis-acting sequences located within the 5′ UTR using a virus-free replication assay. The ability of these sequences to terminate transcription was attributed to the shared pentanucleotide motif 3′-UGUCG-5′. Taking advantage of our plasmid-based rescue system to generate recombinant viruses, we re-evaluated the importance of both pentanucleotide motifs as well as that of two other conserved sequences in transcription termination in vivo. Analysis of the 3′ ends of positive-stranded viral RNAs derived from the S segment revealed that only the region around the upstream pentanucleotide motif mediated transcription termination in cells infected with wild-type BUNV, leading to mRNAs that were about 100 nt shorter than antigenome RNA. Furthermore, the downstream motif was not recognized in recombinant viruses in which the upstream signal has been disrupted. Our results suggest that in the context of virus infection transcription termination of the BUNV S genome segment mRNA is exclusively directed by the upstream-termination signal. Interestingly, within this region we identified a motif similar to a transcription-termination sequence used by Rift Valley fever phlebovirus.
Citation
Blakqori , G , Lowen , A C & Elliott , R M 2012 , ' The small genome segment of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus harbours a single transcription-termination signal ' , Journal of General Virology , vol. 93 , no. 7 , pp. 1449-1455 . https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.042390-0
Publication
Journal of General Virology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0022-1317Type
Journal article
Rights
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.