Highly efficacious antiviral protection of plants by small interfering RNAs identified in vitro
| Autor: | Gago-Zachert, Selma, Schuck, Jana, Weinholdt, Claus, Knoblich, Marie, Pantaleo, Vitantonio, Grosse, Ivo, Gursinsky, Torsten, Behrens, Sven-Erik |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Nucleic Acids Research |
| ISSN: | 1362-4962 0305-1048 |
| Popis: | 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. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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