Highly efficacious antiviral protection of plants by small interfering RNAs identified in vitro
In response to a viral infection, the plant's RNA silencing machinery processes viral RNAs into a huge number of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). However, a very few of these siRNAs actually interfere with viral replication. A reliable approach to identify these immunologically effective siRNAs...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Nucleic acids research 2019-09, Vol.47 (17), p.9343-9357 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | In response to a viral infection, the plant's RNA silencing machinery processes viral RNAs into a huge number of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). However, a very few of these siRNAs actually interfere with viral replication. A reliable approach to identify these immunologically effective siRNAs (esiRNAs) and to define the characteristics underlying their activity has not been available so far. Here, we develop a novel screening approach that enables a rapid functional identification of antiviral esiRNAs. Tests on the efficacy of such identified esiRNAs of a model virus achieved a virtual full protection of plants against a massive subsequent infection in transient applications. We find that the functionality of esiRNAs depends crucially on two properties: the binding affinity to Argonaute proteins and the ability to access the target RNA. The ability to rapidly identify functional esiRNAs could be of great benefit for all RNA silencing-based plant protection measures against viruses and other pathogens. |
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ISSN: | 0305-1048 1362-4962 |
DOI: | 10.1093/nar/gkz678 |