Generation of Virus- and dsRNA-Derived siRNAs with Species-Dependent Length in Insects

• DOI: 10.3390/v11080738
• Publication Date: 2019-08-12T10:38:02Z
• Authors: Dulce Santos; Lina Mingels; Elise Vogel; Luoluo Wang; Olivier Christiaens; Kaat Cappelle; Niels Wynant; Yannick Gansemans; Filip Van Nieuwer...; Guy Smagghe; Luc Swevers; Jozef Vanden Broeck
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; HUMAN DICER; Insecta; dsRNA; length; IMMUNITY; Microbiology; Article; FHV; PERSISTENT; 03 medical and health sciences; RNA interference; RNAI; INFECTION; Animals; viruses; Gene Silencing; insects; RNA, Double-Stranded; 0303 health sciences; dicer; CELL-LINE; Biology and Life Sciences; GENOME SEQUENCE; CrPV; small interfering RNA; QR1-502; 3. Good health; DROSOPHILA; small interfering RNA length; Organ Specificity; ANTIVIRAL DEFENSE; small interfering RNAs; Host-Pathogen Interactions; VISUALIZATION; RNA, Viral; RNA Interference; Pest Control; pest control

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules of viral origin trigger a post-transcriptional gene-silencing mechanism called RNA interference (RNAi). Specifically, virally derived dsRNA is recognized and cleaved by the enzyme Dicer2 into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which further direct sequence-specific RNA silencing, ultimately silencing replication of the virus. Notably, RNAi can also be artificially triggered by the delivery of gene-specific dsRNA, thereby leading to endogenous gene silencing. This is a widely used technology that holds great potential to contribute to novel pest control strategies. In this regard, research efforts have been set to find methods to efficiently trigger RNAi in the field. In this article, we demonstrate the generation of dsRNA- and/or virus-derived siRNAs—the main RNAi effectors—in six insect species belonging to five economically important orders (Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera). In addition, we describe that the siRNA length distribution is species-dependent. Taken together, our results reveal interspecies variability in the (antiviral) RNAi mechanism in insects and show promise to contribute to future research on (viral-based) RNAi-triggering mechanisms in this class of animals.