A Viruses Special Issue on functional RNAs in virology, covering structured RNAs, RNA-protein interactions, and RNA-based regulation in viral infection.
I’m honored to serve as Guest Editor of the Functional RNAs in Virology Special Issue. My goal is to curate a collection of high-quality articles that explore how viral RNAs, both structured and unstructured, control translation, replication, genome packaging, immune evasion, and host adaptation.
Understanding the Role of RNA in Viruses
Viral RNAs regulate steps of the infection cycle directly, next to their role as messengers, from protein synthesis to genome replication and the interaction with host factors.
Structured elements such as internal ribosome entry sites, frame-shifting pseudoknots and exoribonuclease-resistant RNAs (xrRNAs), together with unstructured sequence motifs, make up that regulatory layer. Comparative work across viral families keeps finding such elements conserved as a fold rather than as a sequence, which is an argument that they are under selection.
Understanding how viruses use RNA structure and sequence is needed both to describe their infection strategies and to find targets for antiviral intervention.
Scope of the Special Issue
The Functional RNAs in Virology Special Issue collects work on how RNA acts as a regulatory molecule in viral infection. We welcome both original research articles and reviews that explore well-characterized RNA elements as well as emerging discoveries. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Functional RNA structures involved in translation, replication, and genome packaging
- Long-range RNA–RNA interactions and RNA conformational switches
- Viral non-coding RNAs
- Exoribonuclease-resistant RNAs (xrRNAs) and RNA-driven immune evasion
- RNA structural conservation and covariation across virus species or lineages
- Computational discovery and modeling of functional RNA elements
- RNA–protein interactions involving viral RNAs and host factors
- RNA structure probing and high-throughput functional RNA screening in viruses
A Timely Focus
In recent years, experimental advances and large-scale sequencing efforts have dramatically expanded our ability to detect and characterize functional RNA elements in viral genomes. This growing body of research is reshaping our understanding of viral strategies and uncovering new opportunities for therapeutic intervention. By focusing on RNA-mediated regulation across viral families, this Special Issue bridges molecular virology, RNA biology, and computational genomics.
Join the Special Issue
This Special Issue will serve as a timely and interdisciplinary resource for researchers working on RNA-based mechanisms in viruses. If you are investigating RNA structures, RNA–protein interactions, or computational RNA analysis in virology, we encourage you to submit your work.
Details & Submission
Join the Conversation
Questions about a potential submission or a related research idea are always welcome. You can get in touch via the contact form or connect with me on LinkedIn.