About this Research Topic

Background

As obligate intracellular parasites, viruses take advantage of the host-cell machinery to translate their own genomes. This dependence on the host gene regulation pathways renders them simultaneously susceptible to host repression. The modulation of gene expression via RNA chemical modifications, collectively known as the epitranscriptome, has been extensively studied in recent years with more than 170 different modifications, regulated by a specific set of enzymes, being identified. Interestingly, different viruses have been found to take advantage of these RNA modifications to maximize viral gene expression. Different epitranscriptomic marks have been uncovered in a panoply of viruses, and the role of the epitranscriptome in the context of viral infections and the immune response is becoming increasingly relevant.

This Research Topic aims to bring together leading scientists from the virology and epitranscriptome fields, creating a collection of state-of-the art manuscripts related to the importance of the epitranscriptome in the context of viral infections and host antiviral response. This exciting convergence of fields will stimulate discussions on, but not limited to, viral epitranscriptomics, host epitranscriptome alterations in response to viral infection, contribution of epitranscriptomic marks to viral replication, and the relevance of the epitranscriptomic marks to the innate immunity and other regulatory mechanisms.

We welcome submissions of Original Research, Review, Mini-reviews, Opinions, Protocols, and Perspective articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Epitranscriptomic marks and RNA chemical modification patterns in viruses
• The epitranscriptome as a modulator of the immune response
• Relevance of the epitranscriptome for viral pathogenicity
• RNA epitranscriptome as a regulator of infection of RNA and DNA viruses
• Significance of small non-coding RNA epitranscriptome in the context of viral infections
• Technological and bioinformatics methodologies advancements in RNA chemical modification analysis

Keywords: Virus, RNA modifications, RNA

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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