The Small Interfering RNA Pathway Is Not Essential for Wolbachia-Mediated Antiviral Protection in Drosophila melanogaster

摘要

Wolbachia pipientis delays RNA virus-induced mortality in Drosophila spp. We investigated whether Wolbachia -mediated protection was dependent on the small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway, a key antiviral defense. Compared to Wolbachia -free flies, virus-induced mortality was delayed in Wolbachia -infected flies with loss-of-function of siRNA pathway components, indicating that Wolbachia -mediated protection functions in the absence of the canonical siRNA pathway.