Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40884403›Full record

ArticleNucleic acids research2025

A conserved viral RNA fold enables nuclease resistance across kingdoms of life.

Jeanine G Gezelle, Sophie M Korn, Jayden T McDonald, Zhen Gong, Anna Erickson, Chih-Hung Huang, Feiyue Yang, Matt Cronin, Yen-Wen Kuo, Brian T Wimberly and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nucleic acids research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jeanine G GezelleDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3664-6199
Sophie M KornDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3798-3277
Jayden T McDonaldDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0009-0008-7617-5700
Zhen GongDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-0760-1493
Anna EricksonDepartment of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
Chih-Hung HuangDepartment of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
Feiyue YangDepartment of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0009-0009-1860-288X
Matt CroninDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0009-0004-3524-6227
Yen-Wen KuoDepartment of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2746-2953
Brian T WimberlyNew York Structural Biology Center, New York, NY 10027, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3928-8358
Anna-Lena SteckelbergDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7988-9946

Funding

X-ray Scattering Technology CoreP30GM133893 · NIGMS · BROOKHAVEN SCIENCE ASSOC-BROOKHAVEN LAB · PI Vivian Stojanoff · 2019 to 2026
$38.6M
Mechanisms of viral RNA maturation by co-opting cellular exonucleasesR01AI133348 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI KIEFT, JEFFREY S · 2017 to 2025
$4.5M
Understanding the antiviral roles of acellular RNA quality control pathwayR35GM150778 · NIGMS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Anna-Lena Steckelberg · 2023 to 2026
$1.6M
Combination CD-Fluorescence Polarization Spectrophotometer for the Columbia Precision Biomolecular Characterization FacilityS10OD025102 · OD · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI HUNT, JOHN FRANCIS · 2018 to 2018
$138k
Brookhaven National Laboratory DE-SC0012704Columbia Precision Biomolecular Characterization FacilityHumboldt FoundationNational Synchrotron Light Source IINIAID NIH HHS R01 AI133348NIGMS NIH HHS P30 GM133893NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM150778NIH HHS R01AI133348NIH HHS R35GM150778NIH HHS S10 OD025102NIH HHS S10OD025102NSF GRFP DGE-2036197Office of Biological and Environmental Research KP1607011The Center for BioMolecular Structure P30GM133893U.S. Department of Energy
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Viral exoribonuclease-resistant RNA (xrRNA) structures block cellular nucleases to produce subgenomic viral RNAs during infection. High sequence variability among xrRNAs from distantly related viruses raises questions about the shared molecular features that enable these RNAs to withstand the strong unwinding forces of exoribonucleases. Here, we present the first structure of a plant-virus xrRNA in its active conformation and uncover universal principles of xrRNA folding. Comparison with the structure of a human-pathogenic flavivirus xrRNA reveals that both share a core structural motif-a protective ring encircling the RNA's 5' end-despite lacking sequence similarity. Disrupting this core motif through targeted mutagenesis eliminates exoribonuclease-resistance and attenuates viral infection. We identify hundreds of related structures across multiple virus families, supporting the conservation of this mechanism. Our study demonstrates how distantly related RNA viruses have converged on a common structural strategy to inhibit cellular nucleases, with a universal ring topology as the defining feature of viral xrRNAs.

Indexed as

ExoribonucleasesPlant VirusesRNA FoldingRNA, ViralHumansModels, MolecularNucleic Acid ConformationRNA VirusesExoribonucleasesRNA, Viral

Identifiers

PMID40884403
PMCPMC12397905

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.