Circular DNA vcDNA-S7 derived from segmented-dsRNA virus BmCPV attenuated viral infection through RNase H1

Abstract

Viral circDNA derived from insect positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses plays a crucial role in regulating viral infections depending on the RNAi pathway. Our previous research has revealed that Bombyx mori cypovirus (BmCPV), a segmented-dsRNA virus, can generate viral circDNA vcDNA-S7, which can be transcribed to form RNA and further processed into small RNAs to defend against the virus through RNAi. However, whether vcDNA-S7 employs other mechanisms to resist the viruses. Presently, vcDNA-S7 has been found to resist BmCPV infection via a novel mechanism that depends on ribonuclease RNase H1 activity. It was found that the expression level of RNase H1 increased upon BmCPV infection (RNA virus) but not upon B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) (DNA virus) infection. RNase H1 has been shown to negatively regulate BmCPV infections. In addition, vcDNA-S7 was found to form a heteroduplex with the viral RNA and subsequently recruit RNase H1 to degrade the viral RNA within the heteroduplex, ultimately leading to the suppression of viral replication. Furthermore, the resistance of vcDNA-S7 to viruses was significantly reduced when cellular RNase H1 gene was silenced. These findings not only reveal a new antiviral mechanism involving circular DNA formed by reovirus but also offer intriguing insights into the antiviral function of RNase H1 in cells.