vsiRNA18 derived from tobacco curly shoot virus can regulate virus infection in Nicotiana benthamiana

Virus‐derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) play important roles in regulating host endogenous gene expression to promote virus infection and induce RNA silencing to suppress virus infection. However, to date, how vsiRNAs affect geminivirus infection in host plants has been less studied. In this study, we found that tobacco curly shoot virus (TbCSV)‐derived vsiRNA18 (TvsiRNA18) can regulate TbCSV infection in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The virus‐mediated small RNA expression system and stable transformation technique were used to clarify the molecular role of TvsiRNA18 in TbCSV infection. The results indicate that TvsiRNA18 can aggravate disease symptoms in these plants and enhance viral DNA accumulation. ATP‐dependent RNA helicase (ATP‐dRH) was proven to be a target of TvsiRNA18, and down‐regulation of ATP‐dRH in plants was shown to induce virus‐like leaf curling symptoms and increase TbCSV infection. These results suggest that TvsiRNA18 is an important regulator of TbCSV infection by suppressing ATP‐dRH expression. This is the first report to demonstrate that TbCSV‐derived vsiRNA can target host endogenous genes to affect symptom development, which helps to reveal the molecular mechanism of symptom occurrence after the virus infects the host.