Data di Pubblicazione:
2023
Abstract:
: Earth's life may have originated as self-replicating RNA, and it has been argued that RNA viruses and viroid-like elements are remnants of such pre-cellular RNA world. RNA viruses are defined by linear RNA genomes encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), whereas viroid-like elements consist of small, single-stranded, circular RNA genomes that, in some cases, encode paired self-cleaving ribozymes. Here we show that the number of candidate viroid-like elements occurring in geographically and ecologically diverse niches is much higher than previously thought. We report that, amongst these circular genomes, fungal ambiviruses are viroid-like elements that undergo rolling circle replication and encode their own viral RdRp. Thus, ambiviruses are distinct infectious RNAs showing hybrid features of viroid-like RNAs and viruses. We also detected similar circular RNAs, containing active ribozymes and encoding RdRps, related to mitochondrial-like fungal viruses, highlighting fungi as an evolutionary hub for RNA viruses and viroid-like elements. Our findings point to a deep co-evolutionary history between RNA viruses and subviral elements and offer new perspectives in the origin and evolution of primordial infectious agents, and RNA life.
Tipologia CRIS:
03A-Articolo su Rivista
Elenco autori:
Forgia, Marco; Navarro, Beatriz; Daghino, Stefania; Cervera, Amelia; Gisel, Andreas; Perotto, Silvia; Aghayeva, Dilzara N; Akinyuwa, Mary F; Gobbi, Emanuela; Zheludev, Ivan N; Edgar, Robert C; Chikhi, Rayan; Turina, Massimo; Babaian, Artem; Di Serio, Francesco; de la Peña, Marcos
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