Annual Review of VirologyHitchhiking of Viral Genomeson Cellular Chromosomes

摘要

Persistent viral infections require a host cell reservoir that maintains functionalcopies of the viral genome. To this end; several DNA viruses maintaintheir genomes as extrachromosomal DNA minichromosomes in activelydividing cells. These viruses typically encode a viral protein that bindsspecifically to viral DNA genomes and tethers them to host mitotic chromosomes;thus enabling the viral genomes to hitchhike or piggyback intodaughter cells. Viruses that use this tethering mechanism include papillomavirusesand the gammaherpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi’ssarcoma-associated herpesvirus. This review describes the advantages andconsequences of persistent extrachromosomal viral genome replication.