To Knot or Not to Knot: Multiple Conformations of the SARS-CoV-2 Frameshifting RNA Element

Tamar Schlick, Qiyao Zhu, Abhishek Dey, Swati Jain, Shuting Yan, Alain Laederach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 frameshifting RNA element (FSE) is an excellent target for therapeutic intervention against Covid-19. This small gene element employs a shifting mechanism to pause and backtrack the ribosome during translation between Open Reading Frames 1a and 1b, which code for viral polyproteins. Any interference with this process has a profound effect on viral replication and propagation. Pinpointing the structures adapted by the FSE and associated structural transformations involved in frameshifting has been a challenge. Using our graph-theory-based modeling tools for representing RNA secondary structures, "RAG"(RNA-As-Graphs), and chemical structure probing experiments, we show that the 3-stem H-type pseudoknot (3_6 dual graph), long assumed to be the dominant structure, has a viable alternative, an HL-type 3-stem pseudoknot (3_3) for longer constructs. In addition, an unknotted 3-way junction RNA (3_5) emerges as a minor conformation. These three conformations share Stems 1 and 3, while the different Stem 2 may be involved in a conformational switch and possibly associations with the ribosome during translation. For full-length genomes, a stem-loop motif (2_2) may compete with these forms. These structural and mechanistic insights advance our understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 frameshifting process and concomitant virus life cycle, and point to three avenues of therapeutic intervention.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11404-11422
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume143
Issue number30
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 4 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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