Caenorhabditis elegans has long been a laboratory model organism with no known natural pathogens. In the past ten years, however, natural viruses have been isolated from wild-caught C. elegans (Orsay virus) and its relative Caenorhabditis briggsae (Santeuil virus, Le Blanc virus, and Melnik virus). All are RNA positive-sense viruses related to Nodaviridae; they infect intestinal cells and are horizontally transmitted. The Orsay virus capsid structure has been determined and the virus can be reconstituted by transgenesis of the host. Recent use of the Orsay virus has enabled researchers to identify evolutionarily conserved proviral and antiviral genes that function in nematodes and mammals. These pathways include endocytosis through SID-3 and WASP; a uridylyltransferase that destabilizes viral RNAs by uridylation of their 3' end; ubiquitin protein modifications and turnover; and the RNA interference pathway, which recognizes and degrades viral RNA.

中文翻译：

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秀丽隐杆线虫线虫的天然病毒。

秀丽隐杆线虫长期以来一直是实验室模型生物，没有已知的自然病原体。但是，在过去的十年中，已经从野生的秀丽隐杆线虫（奥赛病毒）及其相对的秀丽隐杆线虫（Santeuil病毒，Le Blanc病毒和Melnik病毒）中分离出天然病毒。所有均为与野病毒科相关的RNA阳性病毒。它们感染肠道细胞并水平传播。已经确定了奥赛病毒衣壳结构，并且可以通过宿主的转基因来重构病毒。奥赛病毒的最新用途使研究人员能够鉴定在线虫和哺乳动物中起作用的进化保守的原病毒和抗病毒基因。这些途径包括通过SID-3和WASP的内吞作用。尿苷酸转移酶，通过尿苷酸化其3'端来破坏病毒RNA的稳定性；泛素蛋白修饰和更新；以及识别和降解病毒RNA的RNA干扰途径。