Mutations in the epsilon sequences of human hepatitis B virus affect both RNA encapsidation and reverse transcription.

Abstract excerpt

Hepadnaviruses replicate by reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate within subviral core particles in the cytoplasm of infected hepatocytes. Recognition of the epsilon encapsidation signal located on the 5' end of the pregenomic RNA by the viral polymerase occurs early in core particle assembly. The epsilon sequences contain a set of nested inverted repeats which form a stable stem-loop structure shown to...

Topics

• Base Sequence
• Cell Line
• DNA, Viral
• Hepatitis B virus
• Humans
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Mutation
• Nucleic Acid Conformation
• Point Mutation
• RNA, Viral
• Transcription, Genetic