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Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 1998, p. 6265-6272, Vol. 18, No. 11
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Formation of a Functional Hepatitis B Virus Replication Initiation Complex Involves a Major Structural Alteration in the RNA Template

Jürgen Beck and Michael Nassal*

Department of Internal Medicine II/Molecular Biology, University Hospital Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany

Received 16 March 1998/Returned for modification 28 April 1998/Accepted 27 July 1998

The DNA genome of a hepatitis B virus is generated by reverse transcription of the RNA pregenome. Replication initiation does not involve a nucleic acid primer; instead, the hepadnavirus P protein binds to the structured RNA encapsidation signal varepsilon , from which it copies a short DNA primer that becomes covalently linked to the enzyme. Using in vitro-translated duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) P protein, we probed the secondary structure of the protein-bound DHBV varepsilon  RNA (Dvarepsilon ) and observed a marked conformational change compared to free Dvarepsilon RNA. Several initiation-competent mutant RNAs with a different free-state structure were similarly altered, whereas a binding-competent but initiation-deficient variant was not, indicating the importance of the rearrangement for replication initiation and suggesting a mechanistic coupling to encapsidation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Internal Medicine II/Molecular Biology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany. Phone and Fax: 49-761-270 3507. E-mail: nassal2{at}ukl.uni-freiburg.de.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 1998, p. 6265-6272, Vol. 18, No. 11
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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