Switching on RNA silencing suppressor activity by restoring argonaute binding to a viral protein

Edit Z Szabó; Máté Manczinger; Anikó Göblös; Lajos Kemény; Lóránt Lakatos

doi:10.1128/JVI.00627-12

Switching on RNA silencing suppressor activity by restoring argonaute binding to a viral protein

J Virol. 2012 Aug;86(15):8324-7. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00627-12. Epub 2012 May 23.

Authors

Edit Z Szabó¹, Máté Manczinger, Anikó Göblös, Lajos Kemény, Lóránt Lakatos

Affiliation

¹ Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.

Abstract

We found that Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) P1, a close homologue of Sweet potato mild mottle virus P1, did not have any silencing suppressor activity. Remodeling the Argonaute (AGO) binding domain of SPFMV P1 by the introduction of two additional WG/GW motifs converted it to a silencing suppressor with AGO binding capacity. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of the transformation of a viral protein of unknown function to a functional silencing suppressor.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Argonaute Proteins / genetics
Argonaute Proteins / metabolism*
Gene Silencing
Ipomoea batatas / genetics
Ipomoea batatas / metabolism
Ipomoea batatas / virology*
Plant Proteins / genetics
Plant Proteins / metabolism*
Plant Viruses / genetics
Plant Viruses / metabolism*
Protein Binding
Protein Structure, Tertiary
Viral Proteins / genetics
Viral Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

Argonaute Proteins
P1 protein, Sweet potato feathery mottle virus
Plant Proteins
Viral Proteins