One major drawback of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase replication is the transcription error rate. RdRps lack fidelity on the order of 104 nucleotides, which is thought to be a direct result of inadequate proofreading. This variation rate is favored in viral genomes as it allows for the pathogen to overcome host defenses trying to avoid infection, allowing for evolutionary growth.
Viral/prokaryotic RdRp, along with many single-subunit DdRp, employ a fold whose organization has been linked to the shape of a right hand with three subdomains termed fingers, palm, and thumb. Only the palm subdomain, composed of a four-stranded antiparallel beta sheet with two alpha helices, is well conserved. In RdRp, the palm subdomain comprises three well-conserved motifs (A, B, and C). Motif A (D-x(4,5)-D) and motif C (GDD) are spatially juxtaposed; the aspartic acid residues of these motifs are implied in the binding of Mg2+ and/or Mn2+. The asparagine residue of motif B is involved in selection of ribonucleoside triphosphates over dNTPs and, thus, determines whether RNA rather than DNA is synthesized. The domain organization and the 3D structure of the catalytic centre of a wide range of RdRps, even those with a low overall sequence homology, are conserved. The catalytic center is formed by several motifs containing conserved amino acid residues.
Four superfamilies of viruses cover all RNA-containing viruses with no DNA stage:
RNA replicase found in positive-strand ssRNA viruses are related to each other, forming three large superfamilies. Birnaviral RNA replicase is unique in that it lacks motif C (GDD) in the palm. Mononegaviral RdRp (PDB 5A22) has been automatically classified as similar to (+)−ssRNA RdRps, specifically one from Pestivirus and one from Leviviridae. Bunyaviral RdRp monomer (PDB 5AMQ) resembles the heterotrimeric complex of Orthomyxoviral (Influenza; PDB 4WSB) RdRp.
Since it is a protein universal to RNA-containing viruses, RdRp is a useful marker for understanding their evolution.
Koonin EV, Gorbalenya AE, Chumakov KM (July 1989). "Tentative identification of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of dsRNA viruses and their relationship to positive strand RNA viral polymerases". FEBS Letters. 252 (1–2): 42–46. Bibcode:1989FEBSL.252...42K. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(89)80886-5. PMID 2759231. S2CID 36482110. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Zanotto PM, Gibbs MJ, Gould EA, Holmes EC (September 1996). "A reevaluation of the higher taxonomy of viruses based on RNA polymerases". Journal of Virology. 70 (9): 6083–6096. doi:10.1128/JVI.70.9.6083-6096.1996. PMC 190630. PMID 8709232. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC190630
Baltimore D, Franklin RM (October 1963). "A New Ribonucleic Acid Polymerase Appearing after Mengovirus Infection of L-Cells". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 238 (10): 3395–3400. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)48679-6. PMID 14085393. https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0021-9258%2818%2948679-6
Suttle CA (September 2005). "Viruses in the sea". Nature. 437 (7057): 356–361. Bibcode:2005Natur.437..356S. doi:10.1038/nature04160. PMID 16163346. S2CID 4370363. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Weiner AM (January 1988). "Eukaryotic nuclear telomeres: molecular fossils of the RNP world?". Cell. 52 (2): 155–158. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(88)90501-6. PMID 2449282. S2CID 11491076. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Dawkins R (1996). The Blind Watchmaker (PDF) (3d ed.). London: W.W. Norton&Company. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-393-35309-9. 978-0-393-35309-9
Timm C, Gupta A, Yin J (August 2015). "Robust kinetics of an RNA virus: Transcription rates are set by genome levels". Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 112 (8): 1655–1662. doi:10.1002/bit.25578. PMC 5653219. PMID 25726926. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5653219
Iyer LM, Koonin EV, Aravind L (January 2003). "Evolutionary connection between the catalytic subunits of DNA-dependent RNA polymerases and eukaryotic RNA-dependent RNA polymerases and the origin of RNA polymerases". BMC Structural Biology. 3: 1. doi:10.1186/1472-6807-3-1. PMC 151600. PMID 12553882. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC151600
Tan FL, Yin JQ (December 2004). "RNAi, a new therapeutic strategy against viral infection". Cell Research. 14 (6): 460–466. doi:10.1038/sj.cr.7290248. PMC 7092015. PMID 15625012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7092015
Zong J, Yao X, Yin J, Zhang D, Ma H (November 2009). "Evolution of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) genes: duplications and possible losses before and after the divergence of major eukaryotic groups". Gene. 447 (1): 29–39. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.07.004. PMID 19616606. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Wu J, Gong P (January 2018). "Visualizing the Nucleotide Addition Cycle of Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase". Viruses. 10 (1): 24. doi:10.3390/v10010024. PMC 5795437. PMID 29300357. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5795437
Wu J, Gong P (January 2018). "Visualizing the Nucleotide Addition Cycle of Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase". Viruses. 10 (1): 24. doi:10.3390/v10010024. PMC 5795437. PMID 29300357. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5795437
Shu B, Gong P (July 2016). "Structural basis of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalysis and translocation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (28): E4005 – E4014. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113E4005S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1602591113. PMC 4948327. PMID 27339134. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4948327
Shu B, Gong P (July 2016). "Structural basis of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalysis and translocation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (28): E4005 – E4014. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113E4005S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1602591113. PMC 4948327. PMID 27339134. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4948327
Wu J, Gong P (January 2018). "Visualizing the Nucleotide Addition Cycle of Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase". Viruses. 10 (1): 24. doi:10.3390/v10010024. PMC 5795437. PMID 29300357. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5795437
Venkataraman S, Prasad BV, Selvarajan R (February 2018). "RNA Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Structure, Function and Evolution". Viruses. 10 (2): 76. doi:10.3390/v10020076. PMC 5850383. PMID 29439438. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850383
Venkataraman S, Prasad BV, Selvarajan R (February 2018). "RNA Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Structure, Function and Evolution". Viruses. 10 (2): 76. doi:10.3390/v10020076. PMC 5850383. PMID 29439438. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850383
Adkins S, Stawicki SS, Faurote G, Siegel RW, Kao CC (April 1998). "Mechanistic analysis of RNA synthesis by RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from two promoters reveals similarities to DNA-dependent RNA polymerase". RNA. 4 (4): 455–470. PMC 1369631. PMID 9630251. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1369631
Venkataraman S, Prasad BV, Selvarajan R (February 2018). "RNA Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Structure, Function and Evolution". Viruses. 10 (2): 76. doi:10.3390/v10020076. PMC 5850383. PMID 29439438. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850383
Venkataraman S, Prasad BV, Selvarajan R (February 2018). "RNA Dependent RNA Polymerases: Insights from Structure, Function and Evolution". Viruses. 10 (2): 76. doi:10.3390/v10020076. PMC 5850383. PMID 29439438. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850383
Fitzsimmons WJ, Woods RJ, McCrone JT, Woodman A, Arnold JJ, Yennawar M, et al. (June 2018). "A speed-fidelity trade-off determines the mutation rate and virulence of an RNA virus". PLOS Biology. 16 (6): e2006459. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2006459. PMC 6040757. PMID 29953453. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6040757
Hansen JL, Long AM, Schultz SC (August 1997). "Structure of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of poliovirus". Structure. 5 (8): 1109–1122. doi:10.1016/S0969-2126(97)00261-X. PMID 9309225. https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0969-2126%2897%2900261-X
Gohara DW, Crotty S, Arnold JJ, Yoder JD, Andino R, Cameron CE (August 2000). "Poliovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (3Dpol): structural, biochemical, and biological analysis of conserved structural motifs A and B". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 275 (33): 25523–25532. doi:10.1074/jbc.M002671200. PMID 10827187. https://doi.org/10.1074%2Fjbc.M002671200
O'Reilly EK, Kao CC (December 1998). "Analysis of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase structure and function as guided by known polymerase structures and computer predictions of secondary structure". Virology. 252 (2): 287–303. doi:10.1006/viro.1998.9463. PMID 9878607. https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fviro.1998.9463
Sauguet L (September 2019). "The Extended "Two-Barrel" Polymerases Superfamily: Structure, Function and Evolution". Journal of Molecular Biology. 431 (20): 4167–4183. doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2019.05.017. PMID 31103775. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jmb.2019.05.017
Werner F, Grohmann D (February 2011). "Evolution of multisubunit RNA polymerases in the three domains of life". Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 9 (2): 85–98. doi:10.1038/nrmicro2507. PMID 21233849. S2CID 30004345. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Iyer LM, Koonin EV, Aravind L (January 2003). "Evolutionary connection between the catalytic subunits of DNA-dependent RNA polymerases and eukaryotic RNA-dependent RNA polymerases and the origin of RNA polymerases". BMC Structural Biology. 3: 1. doi:10.1186/1472-6807-3-1. PMC 151600. PMID 12553882. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC151600
Forrest D, James K, Yuzenkova Y, Zenkin N (June 2017). "Single-peptide DNA-dependent RNA polymerase homologous to multi-subunit RNA polymerase". Nature Communications. 8: 15774. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815774F. doi:10.1038/ncomms15774. PMC 5467207. PMID 28585540. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5467207
Tan BH, Fu J, Sugrue RJ, Yap EH, Chan YC, Tan YH (February 1996). "Recombinant dengue type 1 virus NS5 protein expressed in Escherichia coli exhibits RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity". Virology. 216 (2): 317–325. doi:10.1006/viro.1996.0067. PMID 8607261. https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fviro.1996.0067
Koonin EV (September 1991). "The phylogeny of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of positive-strand RNA viruses". The Journal of General Virology. 72 ( Pt 9) (9): 2197–2206. doi:10.1099/0022-1317-72-9-2197. PMID 1895057. https://doi.org/10.1099%2F0022-1317-72-9-2197
Shwed PS, Dobos P, Cameron LA, Vakharia VN, Duncan R (May 2002). "Birnavirus VP1 proteins form a distinct subgroup of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases lacking a GDD motif". Virology. 296 (2): 241–250. doi:10.1006/viro.2001.1334. PMID 12069523. https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fviro.2001.1334
Structural Similarities for the Entities in PDB 5A22 Archived 2019-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. https://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/structureCluster.do?structureId=5A22
Gerlach P, Malet H, Cusack S, Reguera J (June 2015). "Structural Insights into Bunyavirus Replication and Its Regulation by the vRNA Promoter". Cell. 161 (6): 1267–1279. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.05.006. PMC 4459711. PMID 26004069. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4459711
Wolf YI, Kazlauskas D, Iranzo J, Lucía-Sanz A, Kuhn JH, Krupovic M, et al. (November 2018). "Origins and Evolution of the Global RNA Virome". mBio. 9 (6). doi:10.1128/mBio.02329-18. PMC 6282212. PMID 30482837. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282212
Černý J, Černá Bolfíková B, Valdés JJ, Grubhoffer L, Růžek D (2014). "Evolution of tertiary structure of viral RNA dependent polymerases". PLOS ONE. 9 (5): e96070. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...996070C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096070. PMC 4015915. PMID 24816789. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4015915
Kirkegaard K, Baltimore D (November 1986). "The mechanism of RNA recombination in poliovirus". Cell. 47 (3): 433–443. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(86)90600-8. PMC 7133339. PMID 3021340. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7133339
Woodman A, Arnold JJ, Cameron CE, Evans DJ (August 2016). "Biochemical and genetic analysis of the role of the viral polymerase in enterovirus recombination". Nucleic Acids Research. 44 (14): 6883–6895. doi:10.1093/nar/gkw567. PMC 5001610. PMID 27317698. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5001610
Woodman A, Arnold JJ, Cameron CE, Evans DJ (August 2016). "Biochemical and genetic analysis of the role of the viral polymerase in enterovirus recombination". Nucleic Acids Research. 44 (14): 6883–6895. doi:10.1093/nar/gkw567. PMC 5001610. PMID 27317698. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5001610
Cheng CP, Nagy PD (November 2003). "Mechanism of RNA recombination in carmo- and tombusviruses: evidence for template switching by the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in vitro". Journal of Virology. 77 (22): 12033–12047. doi:10.1128/jvi.77.22.12033-12047.2003. PMC 254248. PMID 14581540. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC254248
Smallwood S, Cevik B, Moyer SA (December 2002). "Intragenic complementation and oligomerization of the L subunit of the sendai virus RNA polymerase". Virology. 304 (2): 235–245. doi:10.1006/viro.2002.1720. PMID 12504565. https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fviro.2002.1720
Waheed Y, Bhatti A, Ashraf M (March 2013). "RNA dependent RNA polymerase of HCV: a potential target for the development of antiviral drugs". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 14: 247–257. Bibcode:2013InfGE..14..247W. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2012.12.004. PMID 23291407. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Yin W, Mao C, Luan X, Shen DD, Shen Q, Su H, et al. (June 2020). "Structural basis for inhibition of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from SARS-CoV-2 by remdesivir". Science. 368 (6498): 1499–1504. Bibcode:2020Sci...368.1499Y. doi:10.1126/science.abc1560. PMC 7199908. PMID 32358203. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199908
Malin JJ, Suárez I, Priesner V, Fätkenheuer G, Rybniker J (December 2020). "Remdesivir against COVID-19 and Other Viral Diseases". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 34 (1). doi:10.1128/CMR.00162-20. PMC 7566896. PMID 33055231. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7566896
Simaan JA, Aviado DM (November 1975). "Hemodynamic effects of aerosol propellants. II. Pulmonary circulation in the dog". Toxicology. 5 (2): 139–146. Bibcode:1975Toxgy...5..139S. doi:10.1016/0300-483x(75)90110-9. PMID 1873. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Marker S, Le Mouël A, Meyer E, Simon M (July 2010). "Distinct RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are required for RNAi triggered by double-stranded RNA versus truncated transgenes in Paramecium tetraurelia". Nucleic Acids Research. 38 (12): 4092–4107. doi:10.1093/nar/gkq131. PMC 2896523. PMID 20200046. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896523
Willmann MR, Endres MW, Cook RT, Gregory BD (July 2011). "The Functions of RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerases in Arabidopsis". The Arabidopsis Book. 9: e0146. doi:10.1199/tab.0146. PMC 3268507. PMID 22303271. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268507
Marker S, Le Mouël A, Meyer E, Simon M (July 2010). "Distinct RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are required for RNAi triggered by double-stranded RNA versus truncated transgenes in Paramecium tetraurelia". Nucleic Acids Research. 38 (12): 4092–4107. doi:10.1093/nar/gkq131. PMC 2896523. PMID 20200046. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896523
Zhang C, Ruvkun G (August 2012). "New insights into siRNA amplification and RNAi". RNA Biology. 9 (8): 1045–1049. doi:10.4161/rna.21246. PMC 3551858. PMID 22858672. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3551858