Identification and Characterization of Novel Alleles Required for Antiviral RNA Interference in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Download or read book Identification and Characterization of Novel Alleles Required for Antiviral RNA Interference in Caenorhabditis Elegans written by Stephanie Renee Coffman and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both RIG-I and DRH-1 function in antiviral immunity through the activation of type-I interferon signaling in mammals and antiviral RNAi in C. elegans, respectively. This work investigates the function of DRH-1 in the production of virus-derived siRNAs (vsiRNAs). Deep sequencing of wild-type and drh-1 mutants challenged with Orsay Virus demonstrated that drh-1 mutants produced primary vsiRNAs that are dependent on DCR-1 and the dsRNA-binding protein RDE-4. However, these DRH-1 independent vsiRNAs are predominantly derived from the 5' terminal regions of both OrV RNA1 and RNA2 and were depleted from the internal regions of viral RNA. In contrast, wild-type and other mutant animals did not exhibit a bias for primary vsiRNA biogenesis from the 5' terminal regions. Mammalian RIG-I acts as an ATP-powered translocase, though the biological function of this activity is unknown. Therefore, DRH-1 may function to promote the production of primary vsiRNAs spreading from the 5' terminal regions to the internal and 3' regions of the viral RNA using translocase activity.