Phosphorylated viral protein evades plant immunity through interfering the function of RNA-binding protein

PLoS Pathog. 2022 Mar 16;18(3):e1010412. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010412. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Successful pathogen infection in plant depends on a proper interaction between the invading pathogen and its host. Post-translational modification (PTM) plays critical role(s) in plant-pathogen interaction. However, how PTM of viral protein regulates plant immunity remains poorly understood. Here, we found that S162 and S165 of Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV) cysteine-rich protein (CRP) are phosphorylated by SAPK7 and play key roles in CWMV infection. Furthermore, the phosphorylation-mimic mutant of CRP (CRPS162/165D) but not the non-phosphorylatable mutant of CRP (CRPS162/165A) interacts with RNA-binding protein UBP1-associated protein 2C (TaUBA2C). Silencing of TaUBA2C expression in wheat plants enhanced CWMV infection. In contrast, overexpression of TaUBA2C in wheat plants inhibited CWMV infection. TaUBA2C inhibits CWMV infection through recruiting the pre-mRNA of TaNPR1, TaPR1 and TaRBOHD to induce cell death and H2O2 production. This effect can be supressed by CRPS162/165D through changing TaUBA2C chromatin-bound status and attenuating it's the RNA- or DNA-binding activities. Taken together, our findings provide new knowledge on how CRP phosphorylation affects CWMV infection as well as the arms race between virus and wheat plants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hydrogen Peroxide / metabolism
  • Plant Diseases*
  • Plant Immunity
  • Plant Viruses
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • Triticum / genetics
  • Viral Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Viral Proteins
  • Hydrogen Peroxide

Supplementary concepts

  • Chinese wheat mosaic virus

Grants and funding

This work was supported by: China Agriculture Research System from the Ministry of Agriculture of the P.R. China (CARS-03) for J.C., Ningbo Science and Technology Innovation 2025 Major Project, China (Q21C140013) for J.C. and K.C. Wong Magna Funding Ningbo University for J.Y. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.