INVESTIGADORES
SEPULVEDA Claudia Soledad
artículos
Título:
Cis-acting Element at the 5' Non-Coding Region of Tacaribe Virus S RNA Modulates Genome Replication
Autor/es:
D´ANTUONO, ALEJANDRA; GALLO, GIOVANNA; SEPÚLVEDA, CLAUDIA; FERNÁNDEZ, JONÁS; BRIGNONE, JULIA; GAMBOA, GRACIELA; RIERA, LAURA; SAAVEDRA, M DEL CARMEN; LÓPEZ, NORA
Revista:
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
Editorial:
AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
Referencias:
Lugar: Washington; Año: 2023
ISSN:
0022-538X
Resumen:
Tacaribe virus (TCRV) is the prototype of New World mammarenaviruses, a group that includes several members causing hemorrhagic fevers in humans. The TCRV genome comprises two RNA segments named S (small) and L (large). Both genomic segments contain non-coding regions (NCR) at their 5 and 3 ends. While the 5 and 3 terminal 19-nt sequences are known to be essential for promoter function, the role of their neighboring internal non-coding sequences (iNCR) remains poorly understood. To analyze the relevance of the 5 and 3 iNCR in TCRV S RNA synthesis, mutant S-like minigenomes and miniantigenomes were generated. Using a minireplicon assay, Northern blotting and RT35 qPCR, we demonstrated that the genomic 5 iNCR is specifically engaged in minigenome replication, yet is not directly involved in minigenome transcription, and showed that the S genome 3 iNCR is barely engaged in this process. Analysis of partial deletions and point mutations, as well as total or partial substitution of the 5 iNCR sequence led us to conclude that the integrity of the whole genomic 5 iNCR is essential and that a local predicted secondary structure or RNA-RNA interactions between the 5 and 3 iNCRs are not strictly required for viral S RNA synthesis. Furthermore, we employed a TCRV reverse genetic approach to ask whether manipulation of the S genomic 5 iNCR sequence may be suitable for viral attenuation. We found that mutagenesis of the 5 promoter-proximal subregion slightly impacts on recombinant TCRV virulence in vivo.