Rice stripe tenuivirus p2 may recruit or manipulate nucleolar functions through an interaction with fibrillarin to promote virus systemic movement. (16th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zheng, Luping; Du, Zhenguo; Lin, Chen; Mao, Qianzhuo; Wu, Kangcheng; Wu, Jianguo; Wei, Taiyun; Wu, Zujian; Xie, Lianhui
• Is Part Of: Molecular plant pathology. Volume 16:Number 9(2015:Dec.)
• Page Start: 921
• Page End: 930
• Publication Date: 2015-03-16
• Subjects: Plant diseases -- Molecular aspects -- Periodicals; Plant-pathogen relationships -- Molecular aspects -- Periodicals; 571.936
• DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12220
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1464-6722

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Summary</title> <p> <italic>Rice stripe virus</italic> (RSV) is the type species of the genus <italic>Tenuivirus</italic> and represents a major viral pathogen affecting rice production in East Asia. In this study, RSV p2 was fused to yellow fluorescent protein (p2‐YFP) and expressed in epidermal cells of <italic>Nicotiana benthamiana</italic>. p2‐YFP fluorescence was found to move to the nucleolus initially, but to leave the nucleolus for the cytoplasm forming numerous distinct bright spots there at later time points. A bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay showed that p2 interacted with fibrillarin and that the interaction occurred in the nucleus. Both the nucleolar localization and cytoplasmic distribution of p2‐YFP fluorescence were affected in fibrillarin‐silenced <italic>N. benthamiana</italic>. Fibrillarin depletion abolished the systemic movement of RSV, but not that of <italic>Tobacco mosaic virus</italic> (TMV) and <italic>Potato virus X</italic> (PVX). A <italic>Tobacco rattle virus</italic> (TRV)‐based virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) method was used to diminish RSV <italic>NS2</italic> (encoding p2) or <italic>NS3</italic> (encoding p3) during RSV infection. Silencing of <italic>NS3</italic> alleviated symptom severity and reduced RSV accumulation, but had no obvious effects on virus movement and the timing of symptom development. However, silencing of <italic>NS2</italic> abolished the systemic movement of RSV. The possibility that RSV p2 may recruit or manipulate nucleolar functions to promote virus systemic infection is discussed.</p> </abstract>