In her second talk, Glaunsinger explores gene expression control by viruses like Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), a frequent cause of cancer in AIDS patients. KSHV stimulates degradation of mRNA by encoding a nuclease, SOX, which is able to target a broad set of mRNAs for degradation yet cleaves them at specific sites recognized by a combination of RNA sequence and structure. Glaunsinger then describes how widespread mRNA degradation by viral nucleases such as SOX causes redistribution of RNA binding proteins in the cell and restricts mRNA transcription by RNA polymerase II. Thus, alterations to the rate of mRNA decay can have ripple effects in the cell that influence upstream events in gene expression.
View the full talk with additional resources on our website
Kaposi’s sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) nuclease: Viral Strategies to Manipulate Gene Expression in Host Cells
Britt Glaunsinger provides an overview of virology and KSHV. She describes how the study of viruses has guided the understanding of many fundamental cellular processes, from gene expression to cancer. (Talk recorded in October 2019)
- Part 1: Viruses Reveal the Secrets of BiologyAudience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:28:22 - Part 2: KSHV: Herpesviral Nucleases Impact Cellular RNA Destruction and SynthesisAudience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
Duration: 00:34:43