Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) is an important pathway to combat virus infections in insects and plants. Hallmarks of antiviral RNAi in these organisms are: (1) an increase in virus replication after inactivation of major actors in the RNAi pathway, (2) production of virus-derived small interfering RNAs (v-siRNAs), and (3) suppression of RNAi by dedicated viral proteins. In this chapter, we will review the mechanism of RNAi in insects, its function as an antiviral immune system, viral small RNA profiles, and viral counterdefense strategies. We will also consider alternative, inducible antiviral immune responses.
Key words
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by a fellowship from the Nijmegen Center for Molecular Life Sciences, by a VIDI fellowship from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (project number 864.08.003), and by Horizon Breakthrough fellowships from the Netherlands Genomics Initiative (project numbers 93519018 and 93518020).
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van Mierlo, J.T., van Cleef, K.W.R., van Rij, R.P. (2011). Defense and Counterdefense in the RNAi-Based Antiviral Immune System in Insects. In: van Rij, R. (eds) Antiviral RNAi. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 721. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-037-9_1
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