Characterization of the siRNAs associated with peach latent mosaic viroid infection

The peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) is a small, circular RNA species that has been shown to induce RNA silencing in plants. With the goal of better understanding the biological mechanism underlying this process, the siRNAs found in PLMVd infected peach leaves were isolated and sequenced. Analysis of the resulting data prompted several conclusions, including: i. PLMVd strands of both polarities are substrates for the Dicer-like enzymes found in peach leaves; ii. the more highly structured regions of PLMVd trigger the activity of the Dicer-like enzymes; and, iii. the circular PLMVd conformers appear to be favored for transport into the cytoplasm.