Manipulation of plant RNA biology by geminiviruses

Abstract

AbstractViruses are intracellular parasites that have evolved to effectively manipulate the cells they infect. As a result of the viral infection, multiple cellular processes are altered, suppressed, or redirected, partially due to the viral co-option of the host’s molecular machinery. RNA biology plays a central role in virus–host interactions, since it is at the basis of viral gene expression, splicing of viral transcripts, anti-viral RNA silencing, and—at least in the case of RNA viruses—genome replication, and therefore is heavily targeted by viruses. The plant DNA geminiviruses, causal agents of devasting diseases in crops worldwide, are no exception, and RNA processing is tightly entrenched in their infection cycle. In this review, we will discuss the relevance of the manipulation of RNA biology by geminiviruses for a successful viral infection and the underlying molecular mechanisms, and suggest some of the multiple remaining open questions in this field.