Department of Molecular Microbiology and Center for Women Infectious Disease Research, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Center for Women Infectious Disease Research, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Adv Virus Res. 2024;119:39-61. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2024.05.002. Epub 2024 Jun 8.
RNA viruses are some of the most successful biological entities due their ability to adapt and evolve. Despite their small genome and parasitic nature, RNA viruses have evolved many mechanisms to ensure their survival and maintenance in the host population. We propose that one of these mechanisms of survival is the generation of nonstandard viral genomes (nsVGs) that accumulate during viral replication. NsVGs are often considered to be accidental defective byproducts of the RNA virus replication, but their ubiquity and the plethora of roles they have during infection indicate that they are an integral part of the virus life cycle. Here we review the different types of nsVGs and discuss how their multiple roles during infection could be beneficial for RNA viruses to be maintained in nature. By shifting our perspectives on what makes a virus successful, we posit that nsVG generation is a conserved phenomenon that arose during RNA virus evolution as an essential component of a healthy virus community.
RNA 病毒是一些最成功的生物实体，因为它们能够适应和进化。尽管它们的基因组小且具有寄生性，但 RNA 病毒已经进化出许多机制来确保它们在宿主群体中的生存和维持。我们提出，这些生存机制之一是在病毒复制过程中产生非标准病毒基因组（nsVG）。nsVG 通常被认为是 RNA 病毒复制的偶然缺陷副产物，但它们的普遍性和它们在感染过程中扮演的众多角色表明，它们是病毒生命周期的一个组成部分。在这里，我们回顾了不同类型的 nsVG，并讨论了它们在感染过程中的多种作用如何使 RNA 病毒在自然界中得以维持。通过改变我们对病毒成功的看法，我们假设 nsVG 的产生是一种保守现象，它是在 RNA 病毒进化过程中作为健康病毒群落的一个重要组成部分而出现的。
