Revisiting Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Recent Structural Studies
Kavitha Ramaswamy, Mariya Rashid, Selvarajan Ramasamy, Tamilselvan Jayavelu, Sangita Venkataraman
Abstract
RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) represent a distinctive yet versatile class of nucleic acid polymerases encoded by RNA viruses for the replication and transcription of their genome. The structure of the RdRP is comparable to that of a cupped right hand consisting of fingers, palm, and thumb subdomains. Despite the presence of a common structural core, the RdRPs differ significantly in the mechanistic details of RNA binding and polymerization. The present review aims at exploring these incongruities in light of recent structural studies of RdRP complexes with diverse cofactors, RNA moieties, analogs, and inhibitors.
Topics & Concepts
RNAPolymeraseRNA-dependent RNA polymeraseBiologyRNA polymeraseTranscription (linguistics)GeneticsNucleic acid structureComputational biologyNucleic acidDNAGenePhilosophyLinguisticsViral Infections and Immunology ResearchBacteriophages and microbial interactionsRNA and protein synthesis mechanisms