Identification of functional cis-acting RNA elements in the hepatitis E virus genome required for viral replication
Fig 2
The synonymous mutations in the cis-acting RNA elements severely impair HEV replication.
Synonymous mutations were introduced in the (A-B) ORF1 (102-131nt) or (C-D) ORF2 (7309-7340nt) coding regions. rHEV-Gluc WT, synonymous mutants, or GAD mutant replicon RNA were transfected into HepG2C3A cells. Cell culture medium was collected two days after transfection and Gaussia luciferase activity quantified. The data are presented as the percentage of Gaussia luciferase activity relative to that of the WT rHEV-Gluc replicon. The numbering denotes the positions of the Kernow C1/p6 viral genome. Values are means plus SD (n = 4). *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; n.s., not significantly different by one-way ANOVA.