The central dogma of molecular biology deals  with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of sequential  information. Recent studies on the HIV-1 RNA genome suggest that in  addition to the correspondence between RNA and protein primary  sequences, a correlation exists between their corresponding structures.  In this work we expanded upon previous studies to determine the impact  that the RNA structure on the HIV-1 genome has on the structure of viral  proteins. Specifically, we searched for 3-D structural relations between  motif structures of solved crystal proteins and their corresponding RNA  secondary structure motifs in the HIV-1 genome. Preliminary results show  correlation of the secondary structure of the proteins including  a-helices, �-sheets, and  single stranded regions with the secondary structures of the RNA, which  includes hairpins, multi-way junctions, and helical regions. These findings suggests a stronger co-evolutionary relationship between RNA and protein  structures occurring in the HIV-1 and possibly other RNA virus genomes.

Investigating a second-level of coding between RNA and protein structure in the HIV-1 genome

244th National Meeting (2012)

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