Figure 2
From: Is HIV-1 RNA dimerization a prerequisite for packaging? Yes, no, probably?
The Kissing-Loop Model of HIV-1 RNA Dimerization. HIV-1 RNA dimerization is initiated by a Watson-Crick base-pairing interaction between two palindromes in the loops of SL1 on two monomeric genomic RNAs. This interaction forms the loose unstable kissing-loop complex. Coincident with virus particle maturation, this unstable dimer is rearranged to form a more stable extended duplex that involves a mechanism whereby the base-pairs in the stems melt and then re-anneal to their complementary sequences on the opposite strand. Nucleotides and numbering correspond to the HIV-1 HXB2 sequence. (Adapted from Skripkin et al. [26] and Laughrea and Jetté [27])