title: The influenza virus panhandle is involved in the initiation of transcription.
abstract: The role of the influenza A virus panhandle structure formed from the 3'- and 5'-terminal nucleotides of virion RNA segments was studied in both an RNA polymerase binding assay and an in vitro transcription assay. Despite recent indications that promoter activity is simply a function of the 3'-terminal sequence of virion RNA, our results show that both 3'- and 5'-terminal sequences are involved in the initiation of transcription. We propose a new model for the initiation of transcription which has implications for the mechanisms by which influenza virus transcription, replication, and polyadenylation may be regulated in the infected cell.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Pathology Unit, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fodor
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Pritlove
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Brownlee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases