The role of the 5′ untranslated regions of Potyviridae in translation

•Members of the Potyviridae family rely on their 5′ UTRs for translation.•Some drive internal initiation with their short and relatively unstructured 5′ UTRs.•Others seem to be dependent upon ribosomal scanning from the 5′ end for translation.•Recent studies reveal the compelling role of the viral protein VPg linked to the 5′ end of the genome in translation.

The Potyviridae family relies on a cap-independent translation mechanism to facilitate protein expression. The genomic architecture of the viral RNAs of the Potyviridae family resembles those of the animal picornaviruses. The viral genomes lack a 5′ cap structure. Instead, they have the viral protein VPg covalently linked to the 5′ end of the RNA. The viral RNAs code for a single large polyprotein, which is then cleaved into several functional subunits. With their common genome organization with the Picornaviridae, it has been largely assumed that the members of the plant Potyviridae family share similar translation mechanism. We will describe the remarkably diverse translational enhancers identified within the family and their unique mechanisms of translation, from internal recruitment of the ribosomes to ribosomal scanning from the 5′ end and the recruitment of the VPg in translation. The divergence among the potyviral translation enhancers is heightened with the recent discovery of Triticum mosaic virus, an atypical member of the Potyviridae family, for which its 5′ leader by far exceeds the typical length of plant viral leaders and contains features typically found in animal viruses. Much remains to be learned on how these highly divergent elements enable potyviruses, which include some of the most damaging plant viruses, to take over the host translation apparatus. While no clear consensus sequence, structure or mechanism has been reported yet among the potyviral elements, more thorough studies are needed to fill in the gap of knowledge.