CRISPR-Cas9 system-driven site-specific selection pressure on Herpes simplex virus genomes

The CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9) system has been widely used for viral genome editing, transcription regulation and chromosomal localization in eukaryotic cells. In this study, a guide RNA (gRNA) that specifically recognizes HSV-1 viral genomes was used in the CRISPR-Cas9 system to inhibit viral replication. This inhibition could be achieved with both wild type Cas9 protein and Cas9 nickase (D10A). By targeting viral genomes containing sequences recognized by the gRNA, the CRISPR-Cas9 system distinguished between different viral genome sequences and provided single nucleotide-specific selection pressure to significantly change the proportions of viruses in a mixed viral pool. This finding indicates the utility of this tool for virus selection without the need for antibiotics or reporter genes, which could potentially save time compared to other methods used for screening and purifying mutant viruses.

Coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus non-structural proteins 8 and 12 form stable complex independent of the non-translated regions of viral RNA and other viral proteins

The cleavage products from coronavirus polyproteins, known as the non-structural proteins (nsps), are believed to make up the major components of the viral replication/transcription complex. In this study, several nsps encoded by avian gammacoronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were screened for RNA-binding activity and interaction with its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, nsp12. Nsp2, nsp5, nsp8, nsp9 and nsp10 were found to bind to untranslated regions (UTRs), while nsp8 was confirmed to interact with nsp12. Nsp8 has been reported to interact with nsp7 and functions as a primase synthesizing RNA primers for nsp12. Further characterization revealed that nsp8-nsp12 interaction is independent of the UTRs of viral RNA, and nsp8 interacts with both the N- and C-terminal regions of nsp12. These results have prompted a proposal of how the nsp7-nsp8 complex could possibly function in tandem with nsp12, forming a highly efficient complex that could synthesize both the RNA primer and viral RNA during coronavirus infection.

Comparative analysis of error-prone replication mononucleotide repeats across baculovirus genomes

Genome replication by the baculovirus DNA polymerase often generates errors in mononucleotide repeat (MNR) sequences due to replication slippage. This results in the inactivation of genes that affects different stages of the cell infection cycle. Here we mapped these MNRs in the 59 baculovirus genomes. We found that the MNR frequencies of baculovirus genomes are different and not correlated with the genome sizes. Although the average A/T content of baculoviruses is 58.67%, the A/T MNR frequency is significantly higher than that of the G/C MNRs. Furthermore, the A7/T7 MNRs are the most frequent of those we studied. Finally, MNR frequencies in different classes of baculovirus genes, such as immediate early genes, show differences between baculovirus genomes, suggesting that the distribution and frequency of different MNRs are unique to each baculovirus species or strain. Therefore, the results of this study can help select appropriate baculoviruses for the development of biological insecticides.