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A 37 base sequence in the leader region of human T-cell leukaemia virus type I is a high affinity dimerization site but is not essential for virus replication

INSERM U332, Institut Cochin de Génétique Moléculaire, 22 rue Méchain, 75014 Paris, France¹
Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Level 5, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK²

Author for correspondence: Andrew Lever. Fax +44 1223 336846. e-mail amll1{at}mole.bio.cam.ac.uk

Mutagenesis has demonstrated a region in the human T-cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I) 5' leader RNA which, when deleted, abolishes stable RNA dimer formation in vitro. We have further mapped, using both in vitro transcribed and synthesized RNA, this site to a 37 base region, which dimerizes with high affinity. When deleted from an HTLV-I Gag–Pol-expressing plasmid which was co-transfected with an envelope protein expressor to produce virions capable of single round infection, the dimer linkage deletion did not affect viral protein production. In addition, virus infectivity was only slightly reduced, to approximately 75–80% of the wild-type.