Researchers led by Dr Valeria Lulla have uncovered new insights into how enteroviruses regulate protein production, revealing unexpected flexibility in viral translation initiation.
This study was carried out in collaboration with the Firth and Graham Groups in Virology, the Deane lab at CIMR, and the Zilbauer lab at Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
Using genome-wide sequence analysis, ribosome profiling, and reporter assays, the team shows that some enteroviruses use two upstream AUG start codons to initiate translation. Both sites are actively used during infection, expanding the coding potential of these compact viral genomes. While loss of the additional upstream AUG has little effect in standard cell lines, viruses retaining both start sites gain a competitive advantage in human intestinal organoids and neuronal models.
These findings reveal a previously unappreciated layer of translational regulation in enteroviruses and highlight how subtle genome features can enhance viral fitness in physiologically relevant tissues.
The researchers of the Lulla Lab celebrated their discovery with a themed cheesecake (pictured above).
Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013967