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Department of Microbiology-Immunology Seminar Series

"The Epitranscriptome –Implications for Biology and Viral Infection"

Stacy Horner, PhD / Duke University

Description:

RNA-based regulation of viral genomes is known to play a fundamental role in their infection. We have recently identified the molecular mechanisms of how the dynamic RNA modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulates infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV), a positive-sense stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family. Viruses within this family include both established global pathogens, such as HCV, and emerging viruses, such as Zika virus (ZIKV). These viruses cause a range of disease pathologies, including chronic liver disease, microcephaly, and high fever. We have found that m6A marks the positive-sense RNA genome of several viruses in the Flaviviridae family, including HCV, ZIKV, dengue virus, yellow fever virus, and West Nile virus. In addition, we have found that m6A regulates their replicative life cycles. Interestingly, Flaviviridae infection also induces broad changes in the m6A “epitranscriptome” of host mRNAs. Taken together, our work reveals that m6A is a conserved regulatory mark on the RNA genomes of viruses with the Flaviviridae family, and it suggests that m6A provides an additional layer of gene regulation to the virus-host interactions that regulate infection.