RNA GENOME 5′ AND 3′ CIS-ACTING ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN CORONAVIRUS RNA SYNTHESIS

Similar to that of other positive-strand RNA viruses, coronavirus RNA synthesis requires the specific recognition of cis-acting RNA elements, which are mainly located in the highly structured 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs), although they may also extend into the adjacent coding sequences. Such cis-acting elements in the 5′ end of the coronavirus genome were first  studied in BCoV using devective interfering RNAs. More recently, these studies have been extended to other betacoronaviruses and, to a lesser extent, to alpha- and gammacoronaviruses.