Virus-encoded inhibitor blocks RNA interference

"Nodamura virus (NoV) is a small RNA virus that is infectious for insect and mammalian hosts. We have developed a highly sensitive assay of RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian cells that shows that the NoV B2 protein functions as an inhibitor of RNAi triggered by either short hairpin RNAs or small interfering RNAs," scientists in the United States report.

"In the cell, NoV B2 binds to pre-Dicer substrate RNA and RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)-processed RNAs and inhibits the Dicer cleavage reaction and, potentially, one or more post-Dicer activities," according to C.S. Sullivan and colleagues,...

Want to see the full article?

• Purchase this article for only $3.00