Viral RNA and Its Interaction with the Host

Dear Colleague,

The life cycle of a virus is critically dependent on its ability to hijack the host cell’s machinery for its own replication and propagation. Central to this process is viral RNA. Not only does this carry the genetic information necessary for the synthesis of viral proteins, but it also contains RNA structural elements and non-coding sequences that are essential for regulating replication processes and host interactions. These non-coding elements can manipulate the host's protein synthesis machinery, alter immune responses, and control the spatiotemporal dynamics of viral assembly within the host cell.

This research topic aims to expand our mechanistic knowledge of viral RNA and its interactions with the host.

Potential topics:

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

-Importance of specific viral RNA structures during viral replication;
-Interactions between host or viral RNA binding proteins and viral RNA;
-Translational control by viral RNA;
-Role of RNA modifications in viral life cycles and pathogenicity;
-Immune recognition or evasion mediated by viral RNA;
-Viral RNA localization during infections

We welcome submissions of Original Research, Methods, Review, Mini-Review and Brief Research Report articles.

Dr. Redmond Smyth
Dr. Neva Caliskan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.