Placing the HdV Rbz in the [−] RNA of HCV cleaves this RNA and suppresses replication. (A) Schematic depiction of the HCV gt2a replicon encoding the HdV Rbz in its [−] RNA. Image includes the region of both [−] and [+] strands recognized by the strand-specific probes used for northern blotting. (B) Replication of constructs carrying either an active (wt) or inactive (ko) HdV Rbz in their [−] RNA. Included are replication-competent and replication-defective controls lacking the inserted Rbz sequence. Significant differences between HdV(ko) and (wt) constructs are highlighted ([*] P < 0.05; paired t-test; n = 6). (C) Northern blot of RNA from transfected cells. The arrow highlights the position of full length transcripts and the arrow heads the position of products produced as a result of Rbz activity.
