Several vertebrate positive-sense RNA viruses, namely the Picornaviridae and Caliciviridae have evolved to use a protein-primed mechanism of genome replication. This results in the covalent linkage of a virus encoded protein, VPg (viral protein genome-linked), to the 5′ end of viral RNA. Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal role VPg plays in the life cycle of these viruses, which in the case of the Caliciviridae, includes a role in viral protein synthesis. This article provides an overview of the current knowledge of the functions of vertebrate RNA virus VPg proteins, illustrating their diverse function and the parallels they share with plant virus VPg proteins.

几种脊椎动物的正义 RNA 病毒，即小核糖核酸病毒科和杯状病毒科，已经进化为使用蛋白质引发的基因组复制机制。这导致病毒编码蛋白 VPg（病毒蛋白基因组连接）与病毒 RNA 的 5' 端共价连接。最近的研究强调了 VPg 在这些病毒的生命周期中的关键作用，在杯状病毒科的情况下，包括在病毒蛋白质合成中的作用。本文概述了脊椎动物 RNA 病毒 VPg 蛋白功能的当前知识，说明了它们的不同功能以及它们与植物病毒 VPg 蛋白的相似之处。