Circular RNAs Represent a Novel Class of Human Cytomegalovirus Transcripts
Shaomin Yang, Xiaolian Liu, Mei Wang, Di Cao, Dabbu Kumar Jaijyan, Nicole Enescu, Jian Liu, Songbin Wu, Sashuang Wang, Wuping Sun, Lizu Xiao, Alison Gu, Yao-Lan Li, Hong Zhou, Sanjay Tyagi, Jianguo Wu, Qiyi Tang, Hua Zhu
Abstract
HCMV infects 40% to 100% of the human population globally and may be a life-threatening pathogen in immunocompromised individuals. CircRNA is a family of unique RNA that is the most newly found and remains unknown in many aspects. Our current studies computationally identified HCMV-encoded circRNAs and confirmed the existence of the HCMV circRNAs in the infected cells. We systematically compared the features between host and different viral circRNAs and found that the unique characteristics of circRNAs were correlated with their genome types. We also first reported that HCMV contained alternative back-splicing circRNAs. More importantly, we developed a new amplified FISH method which allowed us for the first time not only to visualize circRNAs but also to quantify the number of circRNA molecules in the infected cells. This work describes a novel component of HCMV transcriptome bringing a new understanding of HCMV biology and disease.