Optimal viral strategies for bypassing RNA silencing
[EN] The RNA silencing pathway constitutes a defence mechanism highly conserved in eukaryotes, especially in plants, where the underlying working principle relies on the repressive action triggered by the intracellular presence of double-stranded RNAs. This immune system performs a post-transcriptio...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) |
| Repositorio: | RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/83125 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/83125 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | RNA silencing Silencing suppression Systems and synthetic biology Transcription-translation tradeoff Virus evolution Virus-host interaction Defence mechanisms Design Principles Designing principle Double-stranded RNA Immune systems Mechanism of action Model-driven Post-transcriptional Protein components RNA silencing pathway Sequence-specific manner Small interfering RNA Synthetic biology Viral RNA Working principles Biology Optimization Proteins Transcription Viruses RNA RNA induced silencing complex Article Gene silencing Mathematical model Nonhuman RNA transcription RNA translation Suppressor gene Virus Virus cell interaction Virus replication Evolution, Molecular Models, Genetic RNA Interference RNA Viruses RNA, Small Interfering Suppression, Genetic Viral Proteins Eukaryota |
| Sumario: | [EN] The RNA silencing pathway constitutes a defence mechanism highly conserved in eukaryotes, especially in plants, where the underlying working principle relies on the repressive action triggered by the intracellular presence of double-stranded RNAs. This immune system performs a post-transcriptional suppression of aberrant mRNAs or viral RNAs by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that are directed towards their target in a sequence-specific manner. However, viruses have evolved strategies to escape from silencing surveillance while promoting their own replication. Several viruses encode suppressor proteins that interact with different elements of the RNA silencing pathway and block it. The different suppressors are not phylogenetically nor structurally related and also differ in their mechanism of action. Here, we adopt a model-driven forward-engineering approach to understand the evolution of suppressor proteins and, in particular, why viral suppressors preferentially target some components of the silencing pathway. We analysed three strategies characterized by different design principles: replication in the absence of a suppressor, suppressors targeting the first protein component of the pathway and suppressors targeting the siRNAs. Our results shed light on the question of whether a virus must opt for devoting more time into transcription or into translation and on which would be the optimal step of the silencing pathway to be targeted by suppressors. In addition, we discussed the evolutionary implications of such designing principles. © 2010 The Royal Society. |
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