title: Local Mutational Pressures in Genomes of Zaire Ebolavirus and Marburg Virus.
abstract: Heterogeneities in nucleotide content distribution along the length of Zaire ebolavirus and Marburg virus genomes have been analyzed. Results showed that there is asymmetric mutational A-pressure in the majority of Zaire ebolavirus genes; there is mutational AC-pressure in the coding region of the matrix protein VP40, probably, caused by its high expression at the end of the infection process; there is also AC-pressure in the 3'-part of the nucleoprotein (NP) coding gene associated with low amount of secondary structure formed by the 3'-part of its mRNA; in the middle of the glycoprotein (GP) coding gene that kind of mutational bias is linked with the high amount of secondary structure formed by the corresponding fragment of RNA negative (-) strand; there is relatively symmetric mutational AU-pressure in the polymerase (Pol) coding gene caused by its low expression level. In Marburg virus all genes, including C-rich fragment of GP coding region, demonstrate asymmetric mutational A-bias, while the last gene (Pol) demonstrates more symmetric mutational AU-pressure. The hypothesis of a newly synthesized RNA negative (-) strand shielding by complementary fragments of mRNAs has been described in this work: shielded fragments of RNA negative (-) strand should be better protected from oxidative damage and prone to ADAR-editing.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Chemistry, Belarusian State Medical University, Dzerzinskogo 83, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.
authors.forename: Vladislav Victorovich
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Khrustalev
authors.affiliation: Department of General Chemistry, Belarusian State Medical University, Dzerzinskogo 83, 220116 Minsk, Belarus.
authors.forename: Eugene Victorovich
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Barkovsky
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Technologies, Institute of Physiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academicheskaya 28, 220072 Minsk, Belarus.
authors.forename: Tatyana Aleksandrovna
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Khrustaleva