KSHV mRNAs look essentially like cellular transcripts; many are spliced, and they are transcribed and processed using cellular machinery. How does host shutoff affect the stability of these viral mRNAs, and what implications does this have for viral fitness?In addition, although the majority of cellular messages are downregulated during KSHV infection, a subset of mRNAs evade destruction. We are exploring how RNA sequence and structural elements help mediate their protection from SOX, and whether RNP complex remodeling occurs on these transcripts in cells undergoing host shutoff.