High-throughput pyrosequencing of plant virus small RNAs

Plant virus infection involves the production of viral small RNAs (vsRNAs) with the potential to associate with distinct Argonaute (AGO)-containing silencing complexes and mediate diverse silencing effects on RNA and chromatin. We used multiplexed, high-throughput pyrosequencing to profile populations of vsRNAs from plants infected with viruses from different genera. Sense and antisense vsRNAs of 20 to 24 nucleotides (nts) spread throughout the entire viral genomes in an overlapping configuration; virtually all genomic nucleotide positions were represented in the dataset. We present evidence to suggest that every genomic position could be a putative cleavage site for vsRNA formation, although viral genomes contain specific regions that serve as preferential sources of vsRNA production. Hotspots for vsRNAs of 21-, 22-, and 24-nt usually coincide in the same genomic regions, indicating similar target affinities among Dicer-like (DCL) enzymes. In the light of our results, the overall contribution of perfectly base paired double-stranded RNA and imperfectly base paired structures within single-stranded RNA to vsRNA formation is discussed. Our census of vsRNAs extends the current view of the distribution and composition of vsRNAs in virus-infected plants, and contributes to define a more comprehensive scenario of vsRNA biogenesis and their regulatory functions in plants Raw data files are available on our FTP site: ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/geosup/Series/GSE16996 10 samples examined: Arabidopsis plants infected with TRV, TuMV or CMV; Nicothiana benthamiana plants infected with CymRSV, PVX or PMMoV; Cucumis melo plants infected with MNSV, quimeric MNSV or WMV and Solanum lycopersicum plants infected with TYLCV.