Advances in understanding the initiation of HIV-1 reverse transcription. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Krupkin, Miri; Jackson, Lynnette Nthenya; Ha, Betty; Puglisi, Elisabetta Viani
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in structural biology. Volume 65(2020)
• Page Start: 175
• Page End: 183
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Molecular biology -- Periodicals; 570
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.07.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-440X

Abstract

Abstract : Many viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), use RNA as their genetic material. How viruses harness RNA structure and RNA–protein interactions to control their replication remains obscure. Recent advances in the characterization of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that converts its single-stranded RNA genome into a double-stranded DNA copy, reveal how the reverse transcription complex evolves during initiation. Here we highlight these advances in HIV-1 structural biology and discuss how they are furthering our understanding of HIV and related ribonucleoprotein complexes implicated in viral disease.