Viral suppressor of RNA silencing in vascular plants also interferes with the development of the bryophyte Physcomitrella patens

Marttinen EM, Lehtonen MT, van Gessel N, Reski R, Valkonen JPT.

Plant Cell Environ. 2021; doi: 10.1111/pce.14194.

Plant viruses are important pathogens able to overcome host defense mechanisms such as RNA silencing. We showed that the viral suppressor P19 affects the abundance of specific microRNAs in Physcomitrella, hence altering gene expression linked to key metabolic, signaling and developmental processes.