Poliovirus replicase: a soluble enzyme able to initiate copying of poliovirus RNA.
The soluble phase of the cytoplasm of poliovirus-infected cells contains an enzymatic activity able to copy RNA without an added primer. This replicase activity has been purified 60-fold; it is absent from uninfected cells. Poly(U) polymerase activity copurifies with replicase activity. Although less pure replicase fractions copy a variety of RNAs, purer fractions respond better to poliovirus RNA than to other viral RNAs. Even the less pure fractions make a specific copy of the added template, as shown by hybridization of the product to its template RNA but not to other RNAs. Among homopolymers only poly(A)-oligo(U) was copied by the replicase; other primed homopolymer templates were inactive.
D006367:HeLa Cells / Q000201:enzymology; D007700:Kinetics; D017955:Poliovirus / Q000201:enzymology*; D012316:RNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D013698:Templates, Genetic
D012367:RNA, Viral; D012316:RNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase