Pseudouridylation of Epstein-Barr virus noncoding RNA EBER2 facilitates lytic replication

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) expresses two highly abundant noncoding RNAs called EBV-encoded RNA 1 (EBER1) and EBER2, which are preserved in all clinical isolates of EBV, thus underscoring their essential function in the viral life cycle. Recent epitranscriptomics studies have uncovered a vast array of distinct RNA modifications within cellular as well as viral noncoding RNAs that are instrumental in executing their function. Here we show that EBER2 is marked by pseudouridylation, and by using HydraPsiSeq the modification site was mapped to a single nucleotide within the 3' region of EBER2. The writer enzyme was identified to be the snoRNA-dependent pseudouridine synthase Dyskerin, which is the catalytic subunit of H/ACA small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein complexes, and is guided to EBER2 by SNORA22. Similar to other noncoding RNAs for which pseudouridylation has a positive effect on RNA stability, loss of EBER2 pseudouridylation results in a decrease in RNA levels. Furthermore, pseudouridylation of EBER2 is required for the prolific accumulation of progeny viral genomes, suggesting that this single modification in EBER2 is important for efficient viral lytic replication. Taken together, our findings add to the list of RNA modifications that are essential for noncoding RNAs to implement their physiological roles.

Automated summary

In this study, we discovered that the noncoding RNA EBER2 from EBV is pseudouridylated, and this modification is crucial for RNA stability and efficient viral lytic replication.