RNA higher-order structures within the coronavirus 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions and their roles in viral replication

Abstract

The 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of all coronaviruses contain RNA higher-order structures which play essential roles in viral transcription and replication. In this chapter we present our current knowledge of how those cis-acting elements were defined and their functional roles in viral transcription and replication. Cellular proteins which have been shown binding to those cis-acting elements and potentially support the RNA discontinuous synthesis model are also discussed. A conserved RNA structure model for the 5′ and 3′ UTRs of group 2 coronaviruses is presented with the known cellular protein binding sites. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.