Caenorhabditis elegans ADAR editing and the ERI-6/7/MOV10 RNAi pathway silence endogenous viral elements and LTR retrotransposons.

ABSTRACT: Endogenous retroviruses and long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that are closely related to retroviruses. Desilenced endogenous retroviruses are associated with human autoimmune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Caenorhabditis elegans and related Caenorhabditis spp. contain LTR retrotransposons and, as described here, numerous integrated viral genes including viral envelope genes that are part of LTR retrotransposons. We found that both LTR retrotransposons and endogenous viral elements are silenced by ADARs [adenosine deaminases acting on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)] together with the endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) factor ERI-6/7, a homolog of MOV10 helicase, a retrotransposon and retrovirus restriction factor in human. siRNAs

SUBMITTER: Fischer SEJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7084138 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature