title: Vaccinia and influenza A viruses select rather than adjust tRNAs to optimize translation.
abstract: Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are central to protein synthesis and impact translational speed and fidelity by their abundance. Here we examine the extent to which viruses manipulate tRNA populations to favor translation of their own genes. We study two very different viruses: influenza A virus (IAV), a medium-sized (13 kB genome) RNA virus; and vaccinia virus (VV), a large (200 kB genome) DNA virus. We show that the total cellular tRNA population remains unchanged following viral infection, whereas the polysome-associated tRNA population changes dramatically in a virus-specific manner. The changes in polysome-associated tRNA levels reflect the codon usage of viral genes, suggesting the existence of local tRNA pools optimized for viral translation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pavon-Eternod
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dittmar
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Jack R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bennink
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yewdell
mesh_terms: D003062:Codon; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D007372:Interferons / Q000494:pharmacology; D011132:Polyribosomes / Q000737:chemistry; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000235:genetics*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D007372:Interferons; D012343:RNA, Transfer