The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities

African swine fever virus is complex DNA virus that infects pigs with mortality rates up to 100% leading to devastating socioeconomic effected in the affected countries. There is neither a vaccine nor a treatment to control ASF. African swine fever virus genome encodes two putative SF2 RNA helicases...

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Main Authors: Ferdinando B. Freitas, Gonçalo Frouco, Carlos Martins, Fernando Ferreira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
Series:Emerging Microbes and Infections
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2019.1578624
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author Ferdinando B. Freitas
Gonçalo Frouco
Carlos Martins
Fernando Ferreira
author_facet Ferdinando B. Freitas
Gonçalo Frouco
Carlos Martins
Fernando Ferreira
author_sort Ferdinando B. Freitas
collection DOAJ
description African swine fever virus is complex DNA virus that infects pigs with mortality rates up to 100% leading to devastating socioeconomic effected in the affected countries. There is neither a vaccine nor a treatment to control ASF. African swine fever virus genome encodes two putative SF2 RNA helicases (QP509L and Q706L). In the present study, we found that these two RNA helicases do not share a common ancestral besides sharing a sequence overlap. Although, our phylogenetic studies revealed that they are conserved among virulent and non-virulent isolates, it was possible to observe a degree of variation between isolates corresponding to different genotypes occurring in distinct geographic regions. Further experiments showed that QP509L and Q706L are actively transcribed from 4 h post infection. The immunoblot analysis revealed that both protein co-localized in the viral factories at 12 h post infection, however, QP509L was also detected in the cell nucleus. Finally, siRNA assays uncover the relevant role of these proteins during viral cycle progression, in particular, for the late transcription, genome replication, and viral progeny (a reduction of infectious particles up to 99.4% when siRNA against QP509L was used and 98.4% for siRNA against Q706L). Thus, our results suggest that both helicases are essential during viral infection, highlighting the potential use of these enzymes as target for drug and vaccine development against African swine fever.
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spelling doaj-art-e4e1fb7f37954d6a9df1a9d64ed45de72025-08-20T02:08:12ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEmerging Microbes and Infections2222-17512019-01-018129130210.1080/22221751.2019.1578624The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activitiesFerdinando B. Freitas0Gonçalo Frouco1Carlos Martins2Fernando Ferreira3CIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalCIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalCIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalCIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalAfrican swine fever virus is complex DNA virus that infects pigs with mortality rates up to 100% leading to devastating socioeconomic effected in the affected countries. There is neither a vaccine nor a treatment to control ASF. African swine fever virus genome encodes two putative SF2 RNA helicases (QP509L and Q706L). In the present study, we found that these two RNA helicases do not share a common ancestral besides sharing a sequence overlap. Although, our phylogenetic studies revealed that they are conserved among virulent and non-virulent isolates, it was possible to observe a degree of variation between isolates corresponding to different genotypes occurring in distinct geographic regions. Further experiments showed that QP509L and Q706L are actively transcribed from 4 h post infection. The immunoblot analysis revealed that both protein co-localized in the viral factories at 12 h post infection, however, QP509L was also detected in the cell nucleus. Finally, siRNA assays uncover the relevant role of these proteins during viral cycle progression, in particular, for the late transcription, genome replication, and viral progeny (a reduction of infectious particles up to 99.4% when siRNA against QP509L was used and 98.4% for siRNA against Q706L). Thus, our results suggest that both helicases are essential during viral infection, highlighting the potential use of these enzymes as target for drug and vaccine development against African swine fever.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2019.1578624African swine fever virussuperfamily II RNA helicasesqRT-PCRsiRNA
spellingShingle Ferdinando B. Freitas
Gonçalo Frouco
Carlos Martins
Fernando Ferreira
The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
Emerging Microbes and Infections
African swine fever virus
superfamily II RNA helicases
qRT-PCR
siRNA
title The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
title_full The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
title_fullStr The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
title_full_unstemmed The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
title_short The QP509L and Q706L superfamily II RNA helicases of African swine fever virus are required for viral replication, having non-redundant activities
title_sort qp509l and q706l superfamily ii rna helicases of african swine fever virus are required for viral replication having non redundant activities
topic African swine fever virus
superfamily II RNA helicases
qRT-PCR
siRNA
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2019.1578624
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