Special Issue "Structural biology of Viral Genome Replication"
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear colleagues,
Faithful replication of the cellular genome is crucial for the viability of cellular organisms; however, this is not necessarily the case for viruses. Indeed, the recent COVID-19 pandemic that continues to plague humanity has demonstrated as much. The persistent rise of new SARS-CoV-2 variants is an exemplary case of viral evolution, as RNA viruses are prone to accumulating mutations due to their error-prone polymerases responsible for genome replication. The mechanisms used by viruses for genome replication are as diverse as their genomic composition. Indeed, viruses that use the same genomic composition (e.g., the (+) RNA genomes of picornaviruses and alphaviruses) can use very different strategies for genome replication. Viruses can be categorized into seven groups based on their genome structure. These include linear dsDNA, circular dsDNA, linear ssDNA, circular ssDNA, (+) RNA, (-) RNA, or dsRNA genomes. Some viruses possess genomes that are less than 1 knt in length, while others possess genomes that are in excess of 2 Mbp. Smaller genomes use more of the cellular machinery for genome replication, while larger viruses encode for more, but not all, of the machinery needed for genome replication. Interestingly enough, some viruses possess gapped DNA genomes and others possess DNA with short segments of RNA genomes. While RNA and DNA polymerases play central roles in genome replication, they are not the sole players. Additional complexes involved in genome replication include primases, nucleases, origin binding proteins, and helicases. Suffice it to say, the study of viral genome replication has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of cellular genome replication, genome integration, and genome recombination.
To deduce the chemical mechanism of genome replication, crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have traditionally served as the primary tools for structural studies of these complexes; however, with the advent of near-atomic resolution cryo-electron microscopy, there has been an explosion of studies that were traditionally not possible with crystallography and NMR due to the limitations imposed by these techniques. With the advent of deep learning, it remains to be seen what new discoveries await in this challenging, wonderful, and puzzling field of science. For this Special Issue of Viruses, we intend to discuss multiple aspects of virus genome replication via disciplines that include structural biology, molecular biophysics, and computational biology. We ask the scientific community to contribute original research, reviews, and novel methods to study the structural biology of genome replication of viruses that infect eukarya, prokarya, or archaea.
Dr. Reza Khayat
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- genome replication
- RNA
- DNA
- crystallography
- cryo-EM
- NMR
- optical tweezers
- molecular dynamics
- bioinformatics
- atomic force microscopy