The C and D stem-and-loop sequences act as a core RNA encapsidation signal for Moloney murine leukemia virus.
Both stem and loop sequences contribute to MLV encapsidation; supports core signal mapping but leaves open extension to other retroviruses or vectors.
Four putative hairpin structures (hairpins A to D) are involved in the specific encapsidation of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) RNA into M-MuLV virus particles. The C and D elements, encompassing M-MuLV viral nucleotides 310 to 374, facilitate encapsidation of heterologous RNA into virions. Thus, these two elements appear to act as a core RNA encapsidation signal. The loop sequences of the putative C and D hairpins are identical (GACG). However, when GACG loops were introduced into RNAs on heterologous stem sequences, they increased encapsidation levels only three- to fourfold. These results suggest that C and D stem-and-loop sequences contribute to the M-MuLV cis-acting site for encapsidation.
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Mougel et al. (1997) studied this question.
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