Abstract 2315 The Purification and Characterization of a Flavivirus NS5 Protein for RNA Transcription Analysis

Flaviviruses are a family of RNA viruses that are commonly found in arthropods and can be transmitted to both animal and human hosts. A large portion of these flaviviruses are human pathogens, infecting up to 400 million people each year. These include Yellow Fever, Dengue, West Nile, Zika, and Powassan viruses. Current evidence indicates viral RNA genomes are modified post-transcriptionally, and that these modifications could affect viral RNA stability and replication. This work explores the effect these epigenetic RNA modifications have on the speed and accuracy of RNA transcription by flavivirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), using Powassan virus as a model for the flaviviral system.