RNA Polymerase - RNA Polymerase in Viruses

RNA Polymerase in Viruses

Orthopoxviruses synthesize RNA using a virally encoded RNAP that is structurally and mechanistically related to bacterial RNAP, archaeal RNAP, and eukaryotic nuclear RNAP I-V. Most other viruses that synthesize RNA using a virally encoded RNAP use an RNAP that is not structurally and mechanistically related to bacterial RNAP, archaeal RNAP, and eukaryotic nuclear RNAP I-V. Many viruses use a single-subunit DNA-dependent RNAP that is structurally and mechanistically related to the single-subunit RNAP of eukaryotic chloroplasts and mitochondria and, more distantly, to DNA polymerases and reverse transcriptases. Perhaps the most widely studied such single-subunit RNAP is bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. Other viruses use a RNA-dependent RNAP (an RNAP that employs RNA as a template instead of DNA). This occurs in negative strand RNA viruses and dsRNA viruses, both of which exist for a portion of their life cycle as double-stranded RNA. However, some positive strand RNA viruses, such as poliovirus, also contain RNA-dependent RNAP.