Abstract
The zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host factor that inhibits the replication of many viruses by preventing the accumulation of viral mRNAs in the cytoplasm. ZAP specifically binds to the viral mRNA and recruits the cellular RNA degradation machinery to degrade the target RNA. In this article, we will review the work to date in understanding the mechanisms by which ZAP promotes viral mRNA decay and discuss future research directions to further investigate the function and underlying mechanisms of ZAP.