The Termination Switch: A Novel Mechanism for Viral RNA Transcription

Name of applicant Lizandro René Rivera Rangel Title Postdoctoral Fellow Institution Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research, Heidelberg University, Germany Amount DKK 2,720,933 Year 2026 Type of grant Internationalisation Fellowships I will study how viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and hepatitis C virus, duplicate their genetic code. To multiply, viruses use specialized polymerase proteins to build copies of their RNA genome. My research focuses on understanding how polymerases accurately terminate this process. I aim to identify the RNA markers that instruct these polymerases to terminate building a new copy of the viral genome. Viruses affect humans, plants and animals, causing significant mortality, ecological and socioeconomic losses worldwide. Despite their global impact, we do not fully understand their function. Studying the mechanistic basis of viral genome duplication is essential for a deeper understanding of viral biology and for driving technological innovations in gene therapies, vaccines, and research tools. I will use a multidisciplinary approach to uncover how RNA markers regulate viral RNA genome duplication. By combining advanced technologies for the study of RNA and proteins, I will identify potential RNA termination switches and characterize how the viral polymerases responsible for genome duplication respond to them. I will then test how these switches affect the viral life cycle.