Project description:Parallel RNA silencing pathways regulate gene expression in plants, either by transcriptional gene silencing via RNA-dependent DNA methylation (RdDM), or by post-transcriptional silencing targeting mRNAs. Both pathways rely on distinct Dicer-like proteins to cleave double-stranded RNA into small-interfering RNAs. Experiments to determine the subcellular localization of Dicer-like proteins in Arabidopsis revealed that DCL4 is predominantly expressed as a transcriptional start site isoform that encodes a cytoplasmic protein. A second, longer DCL4 transcript isoform encodes a nuclear-localization signal and its expression is repressed by DNA methylation. Consequently this isoform is induced when promoter methylation decreases due to infection with a bacterial pathogen or during silique development. Nuclear DCL4 produces unique populations of small RNAs, called DCL4NLS isoform-dependent siRNAs (disiRNAs), which function via a post-transcriptional silencing effector, but whose precursors are generated by the RdDM pathway. Arabidopsis cells can thus respond to genome methylation changes by modulating DCL4 localization, which in turn recruits PTGS factors to reinforce RNA silencing.
Project description:We investigated the role of A. thaliana RDRs in the RNAi-mediated viral immunity by using a mutant of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) that does not express the VSR protein 2b. CMV contains three positive-strand genomic RNAs and the 2b protein encoded by RNA2 is essential for infection by suppressing antiviral silencing initiated by either DCL4 or DCL2. Our results demonstrate an essential role for the amplification of viral siRNAs by either RDR1 or RDR6 in antiviral silencing. Further analyses, including Illumina sequencing of more than 3.5 million viral siRNAs, indicated target specificity of the two antiviral RDRs.