A single substitution in Vacuolar protein sorting 4 is responsible for resistance to Watermelon mosaic virus in melon

Abstract

In plants, introgression of genetic resistance is a proven strategy for developing new resistant lines. While host proteins involved in genome replication and cell to cell movement are widely studied, other cell mechanisms responsible for virus infection remain under investigated. Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) play a key role in membrane trafficking in plants and are involved in the replication of several plant RNA viruses. In this work, we describe the role of the ESCRT protein CmVPS4 as a new susceptibility factor to the Potyvirus Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) in melon. Using a worldwide collection of melons, we identified three different alleles carrying non-synonymous substitutions in CmVps4. Two of these alleles were shown to be associated with WMV resistance. Using a complementation approach, we demonstrated that resistance is due to a single non-synonymous substitution in the allele CmVps4P30R. This work opens up new avenues of research on a new family of host factors required for virus infection and new targets for resistance.

Keywords: Cucumis melo; Potyvirus; ESCRT; VPS4; WMV; plant; resistance.