Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae
Abstract Plant viruses both trigger and inhibit host plant defense responses, including defenses that target their insect vectors, such as aphids. Turnip mosaic viru (TuMV) infection and its protein, NIa-Pro (nuclear inclusion protease a), suppress aphid-induced plant defenses, however the mechanism...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMC
2025-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06411-2 |
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| author | Swayamjit Ray Tyseen Murad Gabriella D. Arena Kanza Arshad Zebulun Arendsee Venura Herath Steven A. Whitham Clare L. Casteel |
| author_facet | Swayamjit Ray Tyseen Murad Gabriella D. Arena Kanza Arshad Zebulun Arendsee Venura Herath Steven A. Whitham Clare L. Casteel |
| author_sort | Swayamjit Ray |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Plant viruses both trigger and inhibit host plant defense responses, including defenses that target their insect vectors, such as aphids. Turnip mosaic viru (TuMV) infection and its protein, NIa-Pro (nuclear inclusion protease a), suppress aphid-induced plant defenses, however the mechanisms of this suppression are still largely unknown. In this study, we determined that NIa-Pro’s protease activity is required to increase aphid performance on host plants and that 40 transcripts with predicted NIa-Pro cleavage sequences are regulated in Arabidopsis plants challenged with aphids and/or virus compared to healthy controls. One of the candidates, MEDIATOR 16 (MED16), regulates the transcription of ethylene (ET)/jasmonic acid (JA)-dependent defense responses against necrotrophic pathogens. We show that a nuclear localization signal is removed from MED16 by specific proteolytic cleavage in virus-infected plants and in plants overexpressing NIa-Pro in the presence of aphids. Although some cleavage was occasionally detected in the absence of virus infection, it occurred at a much higher rate in plants that were virus-infected or overexpressing NIa-Pro, especially when aphids were also present. This suggests MED16 functions in the nucleus may be impacted in virus infected plants. Consistent with this, induction of the MED16-dependent transcript of PLANT DEFENSIN 1.2 (PDF1.2), was reduced in virus-infected plants and in plants expressing NIa-Pro compared to controls, but not in plants expressing NIa-Pro C151A that lacks its protease activity. Finally, we show the performance of both the virus and the aphid vector was enhanced on med16 mutant Arabidopsis compared to controls. Overall, this study demonstrates MED16 regulates defense responses against both the virus and the aphid and provides insights into the mechanism by which TuMV suppresses anti-virus and anti-herbivore defenses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9e37e1b312741e1a90b4069b0a9a87d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9e37e1b312741e1a90b4069b0a9a87d2025-08-20T03:07:40ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-04-0125111610.1186/s12870-025-06411-2Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicaeSwayamjit Ray0Tyseen Murad1Gabriella D. Arena2Kanza Arshad3Zebulun Arendsee4Venura Herath5Steven A. Whitham6Clare L. Casteel7Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell UniversityDepartment of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell UniversityLaboratório de Biologia Molecular Aplicada, Instituto Biológico de São PauloDepartment of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell UniversityInterdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Graduate Program, Iowa State UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of PeradeniyaDepartment of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, Iowa State UniversityDepartment of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell UniversityAbstract Plant viruses both trigger and inhibit host plant defense responses, including defenses that target their insect vectors, such as aphids. Turnip mosaic viru (TuMV) infection and its protein, NIa-Pro (nuclear inclusion protease a), suppress aphid-induced plant defenses, however the mechanisms of this suppression are still largely unknown. In this study, we determined that NIa-Pro’s protease activity is required to increase aphid performance on host plants and that 40 transcripts with predicted NIa-Pro cleavage sequences are regulated in Arabidopsis plants challenged with aphids and/or virus compared to healthy controls. One of the candidates, MEDIATOR 16 (MED16), regulates the transcription of ethylene (ET)/jasmonic acid (JA)-dependent defense responses against necrotrophic pathogens. We show that a nuclear localization signal is removed from MED16 by specific proteolytic cleavage in virus-infected plants and in plants overexpressing NIa-Pro in the presence of aphids. Although some cleavage was occasionally detected in the absence of virus infection, it occurred at a much higher rate in plants that were virus-infected or overexpressing NIa-Pro, especially when aphids were also present. This suggests MED16 functions in the nucleus may be impacted in virus infected plants. Consistent with this, induction of the MED16-dependent transcript of PLANT DEFENSIN 1.2 (PDF1.2), was reduced in virus-infected plants and in plants expressing NIa-Pro compared to controls, but not in plants expressing NIa-Pro C151A that lacks its protease activity. Finally, we show the performance of both the virus and the aphid vector was enhanced on med16 mutant Arabidopsis compared to controls. Overall, this study demonstrates MED16 regulates defense responses against both the virus and the aphid and provides insights into the mechanism by which TuMV suppresses anti-virus and anti-herbivore defenses.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06411-2Virus effectorNIa-proAphidsMediator 16Plant defense |
| spellingShingle | Swayamjit Ray Tyseen Murad Gabriella D. Arena Kanza Arshad Zebulun Arendsee Venura Herath Steven A. Whitham Clare L. Casteel Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae BMC Plant Biology Virus effector NIa-pro Aphids Mediator 16 Plant defense |
| title | Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae |
| title_full | Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae |
| title_fullStr | Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae |
| title_full_unstemmed | Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae |
| title_short | Turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves MEDIATOR SUBUNIT16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector Myzus persicae |
| title_sort | turnip mosaic virus infection cleaves mediator subunit16 in plants increasing plant susceptibility to the virus and its aphid vector myzus persicae |
| topic | Virus effector NIa-pro Aphids Mediator 16 Plant defense |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06411-2 |
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