Chemical modifications of viral RNA are an integral part of the viral life cycle and are present in most classes of viruses. To date, more than 170 RNA modifications have been discovered in all types of cellular RNA. Only a few, however, have been found in viral RNA, and the function of most of these has yet to be discovered and explained.
Once discovered, RNA modifications enhance our understanding of viruses and present a potential target in combating them.
In the review published in mBio journal, Jiří F. Potužník and Hana Cahová from Cahova Group of Chemical Biology at IOCB Prague provide a summary of the currently known chemical modifications of viral RNA, the effects they have on viral machinery, and the methods used to detect them.
Read the paper:
- Potužník, J. F.; Cahová, H. It’s the Little Things (in Viral RNA). mBio Sep 2020, 11 (5) e02131-20. http://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02131-20
