Structure and regulation of coronavirus genomes: state-of-the-art and novel insights from SARS-CoV-2 studies

Coronaviruses (CoV) are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, harboring the largest viral RNA genomes known to date. Apart from the primary sequence encoding for all the viral proteins needed for the generation of new viral particles, certain regions of CoV genomes are known to fold into stable structures, controlling several aspects of CoV life cycle, from the regulation of the discontinuous transcription of subgenomic mRNAs, to the packaging of the genome into new virions. Here we review the current knowledge on CoV RNA structures, discussing it in light of the most recent discoveries made possible by analyses of the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

Automated summary

Coronaviruses are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses with the largest viral RNA genomes known to date. In addition to encoding viral proteins, certain regions of CoV genomes fold into stable structures that control various aspects of the virus life cycle. Recent discoveries from analyzing the SARS-CoV-2 genome have contributed to our understanding of CoV RNA structures.