This is a unique role for virus-encodedphosphodiesterases, which otherwise lack an NLS and act solely as OAS-RNase L antagonists(12, 23, –, 26).Together, the results demonstrate that NS4a and NS4b mediate both expected and unexpectedfunctions during MERS-CoV infection and further demonstrate the importance of studying thefunction of these proteins in the context of infection to uncover the full range of theirinteractions with the innate immune response. This evidence concerns the gene SMOC1 and infection.