Influenza polymerase (FluPol) transcribes viral mRNA at the beginning of the viral life cycle and initiates genome replication after viral protein synthesis. However, it remains poorly understood how FluPol switches between its transcription and replication states, especially given that the structural bases of these two functions are fundamentally different. Here we propose a mechanism by which FluPol achieves functional switching between these two states through a previously unstudied conformation, termed an 'intermediate state'.
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