Evolutionarily New Solanaceous DCL2 Family Members Acquire Functions in Tomato.

ABSTRACT: RNA silencing is one of the major defence activities against viral pathogens in plants. Silencing signals are initiated by Dicer-like proteins (DCLs) to generate viral-derived small RNAs (sRNAs). Viral sRNAs are then loaded into Argonaute proteins to form an RNA-induced silencing complex to guide cleavage of target RNAs based on sequence homology. While the model regarding RNA silencing-mediated defence against viral pathogens is largely established based on extensive studies using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, there are diverse sets of silencing components in other plants, especially in domesticated crops. Here, we tracked the expansion of solanaceous-specific DCL2 genes during the course of evolution. We found that the DCL2a gene in tomato chromosome 6 is likely an evolutionarily

SUBMITTER: Hao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12602162 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature