In silico analysis of chili encoded mirnas targeting chili leaf curl begomovirus and its associated satellite

Abstract

Chili leaf curl virus (ChiLCV), a member of the Geminiviridae family (Genus: Begomovirus), is one of the most destructive plant viruses. Micro (mi) RNAs (miRNAs) are the endogenous non-coding small RNAs that play significant roles in plant growth and stress resistance by degrading targeted mRNA or repressing mRNA translation. Computational methods have identified numerous miRNAs in many plant species, whereas there is no report of chili miRNAs targeting essential genes of the ChiLCV genome and associated satellites. In this study, we have predicted chili-encoded miRNAs that could be used for silencing against chili leaf curl virus (Accession no. MF737343) infection. We predicted several potential mir-miRNAs, exhibited high complementarities with V1 coat protein and C1 (Rep) genes of ChiLCV. Other overlapping genes, such as V2, C2, and C3 were also targeted by mir-miRNAs.