circRNA Paper published in Jv!

Members of the Flemington, Renne, and Tibbetts labs co-authored a paper on circular RNAs entitled, "Comparative analysis of gammaherpesvirus circRNA repertoires: conserved and unique viral circRNAs". Despite the importance of non-coding RNAs in persistent infection, the circRNA class of non-coding RNAs has only recently been identified in gammaherpesviruses. Accordingly, their roles in virus infection and associated oncogenesis are unknown. Here we report evolutionary conservation of EBV encoded circRNAs by assessing the circRNAome in rLCV infected lymphomas from an SIV infected rhesus macaque and we report latent and lytic circRNAs from KSHV and MHV68. These experiments demonstrate utilization of the circular RNA class of RNAs across 4 members of the gammaherpesvirus subfamily and they identify orthologs and potential homoplastic circRNAs, implying conserved circRNA functions in virus biology and associated malignancies.

To read the full publication, click here.