Research
Virus-induced DCL2b relocalization strengthens antiviral defence in tomato
Nature ·
The Brief
- A study in Nature Plants reports that viral infection in tomato increases transcription of the DCL2b gene.
- The same study reports that infection shifts the localisation of the DCL2b protein.
- The authors state that this relocalisation strengthens antiviral defence in tomato.
Why it matters
It clarifies how a central Dicer-like protein in antiviral RNA silencing responds to infection in a major crop plant, which may inform future work on plant virus resistance.
Who’s affected
- plant virologists
- crop scientists and plant breeders
- #plant virology
- #rna silencing
- #tomato
- #antiviral defence
- #dicer-like proteins
Nature Plants, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41477-026-02459-6 Dicer-like (DCL) proteins are central to antiviral RNA silencing, but how they respond to infection remains unclear. We found that viral infection in tomato increases DCL2b transcription and shifts…
Timeline
Published online in Nature Plants (doi:10.1038/s41477-026-02459-6)
nature.com
Virus-induced DCL2b relocalization strengthens antiviral defence in tomato