Structural basis for backtracking by the SARS-CoV-2 replication-transcription complex.

Brandon MaloneJames ChenQi WangEliza LlewellynYoung Joo ChoiPaul Dominic B OlinaresXinyun CaoCarolina HernandezEdward T EngBrian T ChaitDavid E ShawRobert LandickSeth A DarstElizabeth A Campbell

Published in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The SARS-CoV-2 genome is replicated and transcribed by its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which is the target for antivirals such as remdesivir. We use a combination of approaches to show that backtracking (backwards motion of the RdRp on the template RNA) is a feature of SARS-CoV-2 replication/transcription. Backtracking may play a critical role in proofreading, a crucial process for SARS-CoV-2 resistance against many antivirals.

Keyphrases

sars cov
respiratory syndrome coronavirus
structural basis
coronavirus disease
gene expression
mass spectrometry
dna methylation
genome wide
high speed