The ART of RNAylation: covalent RNA-protein linkage in bacteriophage infection

Abstract

Bacteriophages have been a treasure trove for the discovery of fundamental biological principles and the expansion of our enzymatic toolkit since the dawn of molecular biology. In a recent study by Wolfram-Schauerte et al. these ubiquitous bacteria-infecting viruses reveal yet another new biological concept: post-translational modification through covalent RNA-protein linkages.

Keywords: ADP-ribosyltransferase; NAD-capping; RNAylation; bacteriophage biology; host–virus interactions; post-translational modification.