ISSN:
0265-9247
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Many viral and cellular mRNA species contain a leader sequence derived from a distant upstream site on the same gene by a process of RNA splicing. This process usually involves either nuclear functions or self-splicing of RNA molecules. Coronavirus, a cytoplasmic RNA virus, unfolds yet another mechanism of joining RNA, which involves the use of a free leader RNA molecule. This molecule is synthesized and dissociates from the template RNA, and subsequently reassociates with the template RNA at down-stream initiation sites of subgenomic mRNAs to serve as the primer for transcription. This leader-primed transcriptional process thus generates viral mRNAs with a fused leader sequence. A similar mechanism might also operate in the mRNA transcription of African trypanosomes.
Additional Material:
3 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.950050606
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