The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for length determination and quality control of virus derived interfering RNAs in the exogenous siRNA pathway.

The exogenous siRNA (exo-siRNA) pathway is a critical RNA interference response involved in controlling arbovirus replication in mosquito cells. It is initiated by detection of viral double stranded RNA (dsRNA) by the RNase III enzyme Dicer 2 (Dcr2), which is processed into predominantly 21 nucleotide (nt) virus-derived small interfering RNAs, or vsiRNAs that are taken up the Argonaute 2 (Ago2) protein to target viral single stranded RNAs. This project examines the PAZ domain and its contribution to RNAi.