A family of non-classical pseudoknots in influenza A and B viruses

作者：Gultyaev Alexander P^*; Olsthoorn Rene C L

来源：RNA Biology, 2010, 7(2): 125-129.

DOI：10.4161/rna.7.2.11287

• RNA secondary structure
• RNA pseudoknot
• RNA virus
• influenza
• splicing

A very conserved pseudoknot structure has been shown to fold in influenza virus RNA. The pseudoknot encompasses the 3' splice site of segment 8 RNA in both influenza A and B viruses. By sequence comparison of influenza virus strains, we derive a consensus motif that defines a novel RNA pseudoknot family. The orientation of the coaxially stacked stems in the influenza pseudoknot differs from that in classical H-pseudoknots. Apart from the size of the loops, the topology of the influenza pseudoknot resembles that of some long-range pseudoknotted conformations. A seed alignment of the influenza pseudoknot family, containing representative strain sequences together with a consensus structure description, has been submitted to the RNA families (Rfam) database.

• 出版日期2010-4