Viruses (i.e., measles, mumps, or parainfluenza), especially viruses that have an RNA genome, have been shown to have evolved to utilize RNA modifications in many ways when taking over the host cell. Viruses are known to utilize the RNA modifications in different parts of their infection cycle from immune evasion to protein translation enhancement. RNA editing is used for stability and generation of protein variants. Viral RNAs are transcribed by a virus-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, which is prone to pausing and "stuttering" at certain nucleotide combinations. In addition, up to several hundred non-templated As are added by the polymerase at the 3 end of nascent mRNA. These As help stabilize the mRNA. Furthermore, the pausing and stuttering of the RNA polymerase allows the incorporation of one or two Gs or As upstream of the translational codon. The addition of the non-templated nucleotides shifts the reading frame, which generates a different protein.
Additionally, the RNA modifications are shown to have both positive and negative effects on the replication and translation efficiency depending on the virus.  For example, Courtney et al. showed that an RNA modification called 5-methylcytosine is added to the viral mRNA in infected host cells in order to enhance the protein translation of HIV-1 virus. The inhibition of the mC modification on viral mRNA results in significant reduction in viral protein translation, but interestingly it has no effect on the expression of viral mRNAs in the cell. On the other hand, Lichinchi et al. showed that the N6-methyladenosine modification on ZIKV mRNA inhibits the viral replication.