Elucidation of the epitranscriptomic RNA modification landscape of Chikungunya Virus

Baquero Pérez, Belinda; Bortoletto, Enrico; Rosani, Umberto; Delgado-Tejedor, Anna; Medina, Rebeca; Novoa, Eva Maria; Venier, Paola; Díez Antón, Juana, 1962-

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v16060945

Elucidation of the epitranscriptomic RNA modification landscape of Chikungunya Virus

License

Citation

Baquero-Pérez B, Bortoletto E, Rosani U, Delgado-Tejedor A, Medina R, Novoa EM, et al. Elucidation of the epitranscriptomic RNA modification landscape of Chikungunya Virus. Viruses. 2024 Jun 12;16(6):945. DOI: 10.3390/v16060945

Abstract

The genomes of positive-sense (+) single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses are believed to be subjected to a wide range of RNA modifications. In this study, we focused on the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) as a model (+) ssRNA virus to study the landscape of viral RNA modification in infected human cells. Among the 32 distinct RNA modifications analysed by mass spectrometry, inosine was found enriched in the genomic CHIKV RNA. However, orthogonal validation by Illumina RNA-seq analyses did not identify any inosine modification along the CHIKV RNA genome. Moreover, CHIKV infection did not alter the expression of ADAR1 isoforms, the enzymes that catalyse the adenosine to inosine conversion. Together, this study highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to assess the presence of RNA modifications in viral RNA genomes.