Identification of cryptic putative IRESs within the ORF encoding the nonstructural proteins of the human rhinovirus 16 genome

  • Arch Virol. 2021 Dec;166(12):3373-3386. doi: 10.1007/s00705-021-05209-5.
Bingtian Shi  1  2 ,  Qinqin Song  1  2 ,  Xiaonuan Luo  3 ,  Juan Song  1  2 ,  Dong Xia  1  2 ,  Zhiqiang Xia  1  2 ,  Mi Liu  1  2 ,  Wenjun Wang  1  2 ,  Ruifang Wang  1  2 ,  Haijun Du  1  2 ,  Jun Han  4  5
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 155 Changbai Rd, Beijing, 102206, China.
  • 2. Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 44 Xiao HongShan, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China.
  • 3. Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shenzhen University, 1066 Xueyuan Avenue, Fuguang Community, Taoyuan Street, Nanshan District, A7-437, Lihu Campus, Shenzhen, China.
  • 4. State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 155 Changbai Rd, Beijing, 102206, China. [email protected].
  • 5. Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 44 Xiao HongShan, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China. [email protected].
PMID: 34608523 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-021-05209-5
Abstract

Internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-dependent translation is a mechanism distinct from 5' cap-dependent translation. IRES elements are located mainly in the 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) of viral and eukaryotic mRNAs. However, IRESs are also found in the coding regions of some viral and eukaryotic genomes to initiate the translation of some functional truncated isoforms. Here, five putative IRES elements of human rhinovirus 16 (HRV16) were identified in the coding region of the nonstructural proteins P2 and P3 through fusion with green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression vectors and bicistronic vectors with a hairpin structure. These five putative IRESs were located at nucleotide positions 4286-4585, 5002-5126, 6245-6394, 6619-6718, and 6629-6778 in the HRV16 genome. The functionality of the five IRESs was confirmed by their ability to initiate GFP expression in vitro. This suggests that an alternative mechanism might be used to increase the efficiency of replication of HRV16.

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