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The poly(A) tail of influenza virus mRNA is thought to be synthesized by reiterative copying of the U track near the 5' end of the virion RNA template. This has been widely accepted as a plausible hypothesis, but until now there has been no direct experimental evidence for it. Here, we report such direct evidence based on the fact that (i) replacing the U track with an A track directs synthesis of products with poly(U) tails, both in vitro and in vivo, and (ii) interrupting the U track abolishes polyadenylation in vitro.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Virol

Publication Date

04/1999

Volume

73

Pages

3473 - 3476

Keywords

Humans, Influenza A virus, RNA, Messenger, RNA, Viral, Templates, Genetic, Virion