Viral lncRNA: A regulatory molecule for controlling virus life cycle

Wang, Ziqiang; Zhao, Yiwan; Zhang, Yaou

Many viruses must continually replicate to maintain themselves. Generally, DNA viruses replicate their genomes directly to DNA, whereas RNA viruses replicate their genomes directly to RNA. However, some DNA viruses copy their genomes via an RNA intermediate, and some RNA viruses copy their genomes via a DNA intermediate. sfRNA has been shown to regulate viral gene expression and is required for efficient viral replication and cytopathicity in cells infected with West Nile virus Kunjin (WNV KUN) [19] and yellow fever virus [20] . In contrast, sfRNA plays a negative role in viral replication and translation in cells infected with Japanese encephalitis virus [21] . Furthermore, KSHV PAN RNA associates with the demethylases UTX and JMJD3 to activate lytic replication through a physical interaction with the viral genome [22] .