In trans RNA replication of a defective self-amplifying RNA lowers RNA replication but enhances protein translation.

Engineering circular RNA expression systems to minimize contaminating linear RNA byproducts

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are generated by backsplicing of eukaryotic protein-coding transcripts and can regulate microRNAs and RNA binding proteins, or serve as translation templates. Their covalently closed structure confers resistance to exonuclease-mediated degradation, extending their half-life and supporting their...

Expanding Reverse Genetics of Positive-Strand RNA Viruses: Optimised Rescue Platforms and Construction of a Novel Fluorescent Reporter Nidovirus

It is demonstrated that a potent constitutive promoter system and a hammerhead ribozyme enhance the efficiency of positive-sense RNA virus rescue using CPER, and may support applications requiring efficient recovery of low fitness mutants and diverse mutational libraries and barcoded virus populations.

PTBP1 at the host–virus interface: mechanistic roles in viral RNA translation, replication, and immune modulation

The existing mechanistic knowledge about the PTBP1 functions during viral infection is described and the possibility of PTBP1 being used as a host-directed antiviral drug target despite the hurdles in doing so considering its multifunctionality as an essential cellular RNA-binding protein is explored.

Influenza A Virus RNA Polymerase Is Enriched on the Chromatin of Innate Immune Response Genes

It is demonstrated how FluPol accumulation across key cellular defense loci spans from initiation through to termination, driving host transcriptional attenuation and contributing to widespread defects in transcription termination.

Functional atlas of vertebrate viral RNA elements that stabilize RNA and enhance translation.

Viruses encode diverse regulatory elements, but their breadth and mechanisms remain poorly defined. To address this gap, we performed massively parallel reporter assays spanning ∼200,000 genomic segments from 297 vertebrate-infecting viral genera. We identified numerous viral elements that enhance RNA stability and tra...

Self-amplifying RNA and circular RNA vaccines: mechanisms, delivery strategies, and prospects for long-lasting immunity.