Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
J Gen Virol. 2018 Oct;99(10):1345-1356. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001142. Epub 2018 Aug 29.
Genetic recombination in positive-strand RNA viruses is a significant evolutionary mechanism that drives the creation of viral diversity by the formation of novel chimaeric genomes. The process and its consequences, for example the generation of viruses with novel phenotypes, has historically been studied by analysis of the end products. More recently, with an appreciation that there are both replicative and non-replicative mechanisms at work, and with new approaches and techniques to analyse intermediate products, the viral and cellular factors that influence the process are becoming understood. The major influence on replicative recombination is the fidelity of viral polymerase, although RNA structures and sequences may also have an impact. In replicative recombination the viral polymerase is necessary and sufficient, although roles for other viral or cellular proteins may exist. In contrast, non-replicative recombination appears to be mediated solely by cellular components. Despite these insights, the relative importance of replicative and non-replicative mechanisms is not clear. Using single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses as exemplars, we review the current state of understanding of the processes and consequences of recombination.
正链 RNA 病毒中的基因重组是一种重要的进化机制，通过形成新的嵌合基因组，推动了病毒多样性的产生。该过程及其后果，例如产生具有新表型的病毒，历史上一直通过对最终产物的分析来研究。最近，随着人们认识到存在复制和非复制机制，以及有新的方法和技术来分析中间产物，影响该过程的病毒和细胞因素正在被了解。对复制重组的主要影响是病毒聚合酶的保真度，尽管 RNA 结构和序列也可能有影响。在复制重组中，病毒聚合酶是必需且充分的，尽管可能存在其他病毒或细胞蛋白的作用。相比之下，非复制重组似乎完全由细胞成分介导。尽管有这些见解，但复制和非复制机制的相对重要性尚不清楚。我们使用单链正链 RNA 病毒作为范例，回顾了对重组过程和后果的现有理解。
