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Cited by 516

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 12 of the 12 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The evolution of RNAi as a defence against viruses and transposable elements

Open access
Obbard, Darren J, Gordon, Karl H.J, Buck, Amy H, Jiggins, Francis M·2009·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is an important defence against viruses and transposable elements (TEs). RNAi not only protects against viruses by degrading viral RNA, but hosts and viruses can also use RNAi to manipulate each other's gene expression, and hosts can encode microRNAs that target viral sequences. In response, viruses have evolved a myriad of adaptations to suppress and evade RNAi. RNAi can also protect cells against TEs, both by degrading TE transcripts and by preventing TE expression through heterochromatin formation. The aim of our review is to summarize and evaluate the current data on the evolution of these RNAi defence mechanisms. To this end, we also extend a previous analysis of the evolution of genes of the RNAi pathways. Strikingly, we find that antiviral RNAi genes, anti-TE RNAi genes and viral suppressors of RNAi all evolve rapidly, suggestive of an evolutionary arms race between hosts and parasites. Over longer time scales, key RNAi genes are repeatedly duplicated or lost across the metazoan phylogeny, with important implications for RNAi as an immune defence.

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Metadata

Authors
Obbard, D. J., Gordon, K. H. J., Buck, A. H., & Jiggins, F. M.
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published
2008-10-16
Volume
364
Issue
1513
Pages
99-115
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W2096246936
Cited by
516
References
12
FWCI
32.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The evolution of RNAi as a defence against viruses and transposable elements. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1098/rstb.2008.0168
The paper
Obbard, D. J., Gordon, K. H. J., Buck, A. H., & Jiggins, F. M. (2009). The evolution of RNAi as a defence against viruses and transposable elements. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0168

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