A hidden gene in astroviruses encodes a cell-permeabilizing protein involved in virus release

Valeria Lulla; Andrew E. Firth

During this study we also developed and characterized the first astrovirus replicon system. This will be of broad utility to the astrovirus research community. Astroviruses are one of the major . CC-BY 4.0 International license author/funder. It is made available under a The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10.1101/661579 doi: bioRxiv preprint causes of infant gastroenteritis; they are widespread among mammals; and non-classical human-infecting astroviruses (such as the MLB and VA/HMO clades) have recently been recognized. Nonetheless, despite their ubiquity and importance, astroviruses represent some of the least well-studied human viruses, partly because it has been difficult to establish efficient lab systems to study them. The replicon system developed herein will now permit detailed characterization of astrovirus replication and gene expression, and facilitate research into antiviral drugs.