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Recognition of small interfering RNA by a viral suppressor of RNA silencing

Nature volume 426, pages 874–878 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

RNA silencing (also known as RNA interference) is a conserved biological response to double-stranded RNA that regulates gene expression, and has evolved in plants as a defence against viruses1,2,3. The response is mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which guide the sequence-specific degradation of cognate messenger RNAs. As a counter-defence, many viruses encode proteins that specifically inhibit the silencing machinery3,4. The p19 protein from the tombusvirus is such a viral suppressor of RNA silencing5 and has been shown to bind specifically to siRNA6. Here, we report the 1.85-Å crystal structure of p19 bound to a 21-nucleotide siRNA, where the 19-base-pair RNA duplex is cradled within the concave face of a continuous eight-stranded β-sheet, formed across the p19 homodimer interface. Direct and water-mediated intermolecular contacts are restricted to the backbone phosphates and sugar 2′-OH groups, consistent with sequence-independent p19-siRNA recognition. Two α-helical ‘reading heads’ project from opposite ends of the p19 homodimer and position pairs of tryptophans for stacking over the terminal base pairs, thereby measuring and bracketing both ends of the siRNA duplex. Our structure provides an illustration of siRNA sequestering by a viral protein.

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Figure 1: p19 and siRNA.
Figure 2: p19–siRNA complex structure.
Figure 3: p19 and siRNA structures in complex.
Figure 4: Details of p19–siRNA interactions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Patel laboratory for stimulating discussions and A. Teplov for assistance with data collection. This research was supported by NIH. We thank the personnel at beamline 14IDB of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for their assistance. Use of this APS beamline was supported by the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science.

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  1. Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Keqiong Ye, Lucy Malinina & Dinshaw J. Patel

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  1. Keqiong Ye
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Correspondence to Dinshaw J. Patel.

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Ye, K., Malinina, L. & Patel, D. Recognition of small interfering RNA by a viral suppressor of RNA silencing. Nature 426, 874–878 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02213

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