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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Screening and Identification of RNA Silencing Suppressors from Secreted Effectors of Plant Pathogens
Published on: February 3, 2020
Silencing suppressors: viral weapons for countering host cell defenses
Liping Song1, Shijuan Gao, Wei Jiang
1CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Abstract:
RNA silencing is a conserved eukaryotic pathway involved in the suppression of gene expression via sequence-specific interactions that are mediated by 21-23 nt RNA molecules. During infection, RNAi can act as an innate immune system to defend against viruses. As a counter-defensive strategy, silencing suppressors are encoded by viruses to inhibit various stages of the silencing process. These suppressors are diverse in sequence and structure and act via different mechanisms. In this review, we discuss whether RNAi is a defensive strategy in mammalian host cells and whether silencing suppressors can be encoded by mammalian viruses. We also review the modes of action proposed for some silencing suppressors.
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