A cytomegalovirus encoded lncRNA blocks cell cycle progression

During HCMV infection RNA2.7 is the most highly expressed transcript in the infected cell, but its function is not well understood. We tackeled this open question utilizing methods such as RNA sequencing, ribosome profiling and SLAMseq. Overall design: To decipher RNA2.7 functions we performed RNA sequencing following infection of the WT virus or a deletion mutant virus in two cell types. We also performed fractionation, ribosome profiling and SLAMseq on infected and uninfected cells. We also made libraries without using poly-A selection to sequence histones.