In plants, RNAi is one of the major defense mechanisms against viruses. At the heart of this machinery, the Argonaute1 protein (AGO1) is the target of certain viral proteins called RNAi suppressor (VSR) such as the P0 protein of Turnip Yellow Virus. In a study published on October 18, 2019 in the journal PNAS, Simon Michaeli and his collaborators deciphered the association of PO and AGO1 with the endoplasmic reticulum and the mechanism that leads to the specific degradation of AGO1 in the vacuole.
P0, a suicidal protein sacrificed by the virus!
