Alphaviral Vectors
Molecular Biology of the Alphavirus
Alphaviruses consist of an enveloped nucleocapsid containing a single-stranded RNA genome of the positive sense, some 12 kb in length. The viral non-structural proteins, nsP1, nsP2, nsP3 and nsP4 are encoded on the left two-thirds of the genome and are the first viral products to be translated following viral entry. They are initially translated as a polyprotein that is cleaved into four proteins, which form the viral replicase.
