Linc20486 promotes BmCPV replication through inhibiting the transcription of AGO2 and Dicer

Abstract The silkworm is indeed an important economic insect, not only for its silk production but also as a model organism in scientific research. However, silkworm farming is susceptible to various factors, with silkworm viruses posing the most serious threat to the sericulture industry. The Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV), a member of the Reoviridae family and the Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus genus, is a major pathogen in silkworm production. BmCPV infection primarily results in midgut sepsis in silkworms, spreads rapidly, and can cause substantial economic losses to sericulture production. Currently, there are no effective methods for preventing and treating BmCPV virus disease. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of RNA molecule with transcripts exceeding 200 nt, which plays an important role in the interaction between pathogens and host cells. Research has identified and analyzed the expression of lncRNAs through high-throughput technology and found that BmCPV infection significantly upregulates the expression of Linc20486. This suggests that Linc20486 may be involved in regulating virus replication. Exactly as predicted, knocking down Linc20486 in cells dramatically inhibits BmCPV replication, while overexpression significantly promotes virus replication. To investigate how Linc20486affects the virus replication, effects of Linc20486on autophagy, innate immunity, and RNAi related pathways were screened. The results showed that Linc20486significantly affects the expression of RNAi pathway related genes such as Dicer and AGO2. This could potentially open new avenues for understanding and combating BmCPV infections in silkworms.