title: A non-coding RNA of insect HzNV-1 virus establishes latent viral infection through microRNA.
abstract: Heliothis zea nudivirus-1 (HzNV-1) is an insect virus previously known as Hz-1 baculovirus. One of its major early genes, hhi1, is responsible for the establishment of productive viral infection; another gene, pag1, which expresses a non-coding RNA, is the only viral transcript detectable during viral latency. Here we showed that this non-coding RNA was further processed into at least two distinct miRNAs, which targeted and degraded hhi1 transcript. This is a result strikingly similar to a recent report that herpes simplex virus produces tightly-regulated latent specific miRNAs to silence its own key early transcripts. Nevertheless, proof for the establishment of viral latency by miRNA is still lacking. We further showed that HzNV-1 latency could be directly induced by pag1-derived miRNAs in cells infected with a pag1-deleted, latency-deficient virus. This result suggests the existence of a novel mechanism, where miRNAs can be functional for the establishment of viral latency.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 105; Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueh-Lung
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Carol P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Catherine Y Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Paul Wei-Che
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yu-Chan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D034622:RNA Interference; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000502:physiology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000502:physiology*; D018411:Spodoptera; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D017735:Virus Latency
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D012367:RNA, Viral