The current Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak became a global health threat of complex epidemiology and devastating neurological impacts, therefore requiring urgent efforts towards the development of novel efficacious and safe antiviral drugs. Due to its central role in RNA viral replication, the non-structural protein 5 (NS5) RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) is a prime target for drug discovery. H...

SUMMARY We have established an RNA mapping database (RMDB) to enable structural, thermodynamic and kinetic comparisons across single-nucleotide-resolution RNA structure mapping experiments. The volume of structure mapping data has greatly increased since the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques, accelerated software pipelines and large-scale mutagenesis. For scientists wishing t...

RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is one of the most versatile enzymes of RNA viruses that is indispensable for replicating the genome as well as for carrying out transcription. The core structural features of RdRps are conserved, despite the divergence in their sequences. The structure of RdRp resembles that of a cupped right hand and consists of fingers, palm and thumb subdomains. The catal...

RNA editing by the host RNA adenosine deaminase ADAR1 at the amber/W site of hepatitis delta virus RNA plays a central role in the viral replication cycle by affecting the balance between viral RNA synthesis and packaging. Previously, we found that HDV genotype III (HDV-3) RNA can form two secondary structures following transcription: an unbranched rod structure, which is characteristic of HDV,...

The human immunodeficiency virus Tat protein binds specifically to an RNA stem-loop structure (TAR) that contains two helical stem regions separated by a three-nucleotide bulge. A single arginine within the basic region of Tat mediates specific binding to TAR, and arginine as the free amino acid also binds specifically to TAR. We have previously proposed a model in which interaction of the argi...