22BBSRC-NSF/BIO: Deciphering the RNA structure code for viroid infections

22BBSRC-NSF/BIO：破译类病毒感染的RNA结构代码

• 批准号: BB/Y002849/1
• 负责人: Yiliang Ding
• 金额: $ 65.74万
• 依托单位: John Innes Centre
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FY002849%2F1
• 关键词: 22BBSRC; NSF; BIO; Deciphering; RNA

Viruses constantly threaten humans, livestock, and crops. Many viruses have RNA genomes. In the most extreme case, noncoding RNAs alone (i.e., viroids) can infect crops leading to production losses. Taking oil palm and coconut palm as an example, ~40 million palms were killed by viroids between 1980 to 2007 due to the lack of effective treatments. Additionally, varying temperatures can affect viroid titre and symptom severity. Warm temperatures lead to more severe foliage symptoms and significant potato yield loss by viroid infection. It has been projected that climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risks and poses risks of new viroid and virus outbreaks. Therefore, it is timely to explore potential solutions for informing sustainable agriculture in the future.This proposal builds on recent breakthroughs in both UK and US groups and aims to transform the current knowledge on viroid RNA structure architecture. This proposal will develop advanced methods to decipher both spatial and temporal RNA structure landscapes of viroids in living plant cells. Then we will assess the functional importance of these RNA structure features in viroid infection. We will deliver novel RNA structure-mediated regulation of viroid infection, offering new knowledge for combating viroid disease to ultimately lay a solid foundation for future screening of anti-viroid drugs. The fundamental knowledge of structure-mediated intracellular and intercellular viroid transmission will provide a general understanding of RNA movement and host-virus interactions. This proposed research will establish a series of advanced novel methods where these methods could be applied to other organisms. The novel framework generated from this proposed research will be readily applicable in studying other plant or animal viral RNAs.

病毒不断威胁着人类、牲畜和农作物。许多病毒都有 RNA 基因组。在最极端的情况下，单独的非编码 RNA（即类病毒）就可以感染作物，导致产量损失。以油棕和椰子树为例，1980年至2007年间，由于缺乏有效的治疗方法，约4000万棵棕榈树被类病毒杀死。此外，不同的温度会影响类病毒滴度和症状严重程度。温暖的气温会导致更严重的叶子症状，并因类病毒感染而导致马铃薯产量大幅下降。据预测，气候变化会增加跨物种病毒传播风险，并带来新的类病毒和病毒爆发的风险。因此，现在是时候探索为未来可持续农业提供信息的潜在解决方案了。该提案建立在英国和美国研究小组最近取得的突破的基础上，旨在改变当前有关类病毒RNA结构体系的知识。该提案将开发先进的方法来破译活植物细胞中类病毒的空间和时间 RNA 结构景观。然后我们将评估这些 RNA 结构特征在类病毒感染中的功能重要性。我们将提供新型RNA结构介导的类病毒感染调控，为对抗类病毒疾病提供新知识，最终为未来抗类病毒药物的筛选奠定坚实的基础。结构介导的细胞内和细胞间类病毒传播的基础知识将提供对 RNA 运动和宿主病毒相互作用的一般理解。这项拟议的研究将建立一系列先进的新方法，这些方法可以应用于其他生物体。这项拟议研究产生的新框架将很容易适用于研究其他植物或动物病毒 RNA。