RNA silencing is a defense mechanism in which organisms, such as plants, inhibit the expression of certain mRNA by binding with complementary siRNA (small interfering RNA). Some viruses have developed a mechanism to override this defense in which they produce silencing suppressor proteins that bind the siRNA used to prevent the expression of invading mRNA. Several silencing suppressor proteins have been studied and it has been found that some of the structural characteristics of the RNA contribute to the binding affinity of the protein. In this study the binding affinity for p14 of the Pothos Latent virus for RNA with different characteristics was tested using fluorescence polarization. These characteristics included possession of a 5' attached phosphates, 19 base pair length with 2 nucleotide overhand, and 21 base pair length. The degree to which these characteristics contribute to the binding affinity of p14 are herein reported.

Specificity and affinity of the silencing suppressor p14 for RNA

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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