Viruses and the Nucleolus

The nucleolus is a dynamic sub-nuclear structure integral to the function of a eukaryotic cell. Some of its major roles involve ribosome subunit biogenesis, RNA processing, cell cycle control and responding to cellular stress, such as infection. Our understanding of the relationship between viruses and the nucleolus has moved from a phenomenological approach describing protein localisation to functional studies involving genetic analysis and proteomic approaches. These advances have provided fundamental insights as to how and why the nucleolus is targeted by many different viruses both to usurp normal functioning and to recruit nucleolar proteins to facilitate virus replication. This knowledge has been exploited for therapeutic strategies involving targeted inhibition of virus replication and live-attenuated recombinant vaccines.