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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Immunol Rev. 2009 Jan;227(1):176–188. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2008.00722.x

Fig. 6. A framework of the Dicer-initiated viral immunity.

Fig. 6

The immunity begins with the recognition of the viral triggering RNA molecules by the viral sensor (Dicer) of the host. The products of Dicer, the virus-derived small RNAs, are loaded in Argonaute protein-containing effector complexes to guide cleavage or translational arrest of viral RNAs. In plants and Caenorhabditis elegans, virus-derived siRNAs may be further amplified by a host RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP).