Rice ARGONAUTE 2 plays essential roles in a broad‐spectrum antiviral defense

Argonaute (AGO) proteins are important components of the RNA silencing machinery and play core roles in plant antiviral defenses. OsAGO2 was significantly induced by infection with Rice stripe virus and Rice dwarf virus. Loss-of-function ago2 mutant lines lack antiviral activity, and AGO2 over-expression lines show increased antiviral activity.