Not AvailableTomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV; Tospovirus:Bunyaviridae) is one of the
most prolific and economically important viruses of field and horticultural
crops. In the plant-virus interactions, virus-derived siRNAs (vsiRNAs) are the
result of activity of host-mediated silencing mechanism. We recently obtained
the TSWV-specific small RNA profiles from virus-infected tomato. A subset
of siRNAs derived from the TSWV genome hotspots was analyzed in silico
for their propensity to down regulate tomato transcriptome. vsiRNAs were
found to interact with a gamut of host genes involved in basal cellular
activities such as nucleic acid metabolism, ribosomal turnover, translational
factors, cytoskeletal proteins, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, glycosyl
transferases, peptidases, hormonal signalling, protein kinases, intercellular
transporter genes, and stress-related proteins. Notably, vsiRNAs derived from
the TSWV NSs gene binds with transcripts generally associated with stress
signalling, whereas siRNAs from NSm were predominantly found to bind the
transcripts involved in abiotic stress responses such as dehydration responsive
protein, ion exchange transporters, and low temperature and salt responsive
proteins. The predicted interactome scenario when validated through gene
expression studies using RNAseq could provide a detailed picture on the
molecular mechanism underlying the tospovirus-plant interactions.Not Availabl
