viral

virus replication

rna viruses

influenza virus

reverse transcriptase

antiviral activity

viral rna

antiviral effect

viral replication

Nature

Viperin is an interferon-induced cellular protein that is conserved in animals1. It has previously been shown to inhibit the replication of multiple viruses by producing the ribonucleotide 3′-deoxy-3′,4′-didehydro (ddh)-cytidine triphosphate (ddhCTP), which acts as a chain terminator for viral RNA polymerase2. Here we show that eukaryotic viperin originated from a clade of bacterial and archaeal proteins that protect against phage infection. Prokaryotic viperins produce a set of modified ribonucleotides that include ddhCTP, ddh-guanosine triphosphate (ddhGTP) and ddh-uridine triphosphate (ddhUTP). We further show that prokaryotic viperins protect against T7 phage infection by inhibiting viral polymerase-dependent transcription, suggesting that it has an antiviral mechanism of action similar to that of animal viperin. Our results reveal a class of potential natural antiviral compounds produced by bacterial immune systems. Eukaryotic viperins originated from a clade of bacterial and archaeal proteins that catalyse the production of antiviral molecules.

Prokaryotic viperins produce diverse antiviral molecules