Yajuan Qian

V2 of tomato yellow leaf curl virus can suppress methylation-mediated transcriptional gene silencing in plants.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is a DNA virus belonging to the genus Begomovirus. TYLCV replicates using double-stranded DNA intermediates that can become the target of plant transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). Here, we show that the V2 protein of TYLCV can suppress TGS of a transcriptionally silenced green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene in Nicotiana benthamiana line 16-TGS. Through bisulfite sequencing and chop-PCR, we demonstrated that the TYLCV V2 can reverse GFP transgene silencing by reducing the methylation levels in the 35S promoter sequence. Both AtSN1 and MEA-ISR loci in Arabidopsis thaliana were previously reported to be strongly methylated, and we show that the methylation status of both loci was significantly reduced in TYLCV V2 transgenic Arabidopsis plants. We conclude that TYLCV can efficiently suppress TGS when it infects plants, and its V2 protein is responsible for the TGS suppression activity.

Monoclonal antibody-based serological methods for detection of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus.

BackgroundCucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), a member of the genus Tobamovirus, can be transmitted by seeds and infects many cucurbit species, causing serious yield losses in cucumber and watermelon plants. In this paper, five serological methods including antigen-coated plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ACP-ELISA), triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA), Dot-immunobinding assay (DBIA), direct tissue blot immunoassay (DTBIA) and immunocapture reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) were described for detection and diagnosis of CGMMV.ResultsUsing the purified CGMMV particles as immunogens, six murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced. Five serological methods were established using the MAb 4H1 and detection sensitivity was compared using purified preparations and infected-plant tissue extracts. The detection sensitivity of ACP-ELISA was 0.16 ng of purified CGMMV, whereas TAS-ELISA was more sensitive than ACP-ELISA with a minimum detection of 0.04 ng of purified CGMMV. The sensitivities of TAS-ELISA and DBIA were similar for detecting CGMMV in infected-plant tissue extracts, and were four times higher than ACP-ELISA. The IC-RT-PCR was the most sensitive method, which could detect as little as 0.1 pg of purified virus. The detection sensitivity of IC-RT-PCR for CGMMV-infected plant tissues was about 400 times higher than that of TAS-ELISA and DBIA.ConclusionsThe established ACP-ELISA, TAS-ELISA, DBIA and DTBIA are suitable for routine CGMMV detection of large-scale samples in the field survey, while IC-RT-PCR is more sensitive and suitable for acquiring information about the viral genome.

Virus-induced gene silencing and its application in plant functional genomics

Virus-induced gene silencing is regarded as a powerful and efficient tool for the analysis of gene function in plants because it is simple, rapid and transformation-free. It has been used to perform both forward and reverse genetics to identify plant functional genes. Many viruses have been developed into virus-induced gene silencing vectors and gene functions involved in development, biotic and abiotic stresses, metabolism, and cellular signaling have been reported. In this review, we discuss the development and application of virus-induced gene silencing in plant functional genomics.

Molecular characterization and infectivity of Papaya leaf curl China virus infecting tomato in China

Papaya leaf curl China virus (PaLCuCNV) was previously reported as a distinct begomovirus infecting papaya in southern China. Based on molecular diagnostic survey, 13 PaLCuCNV isolates were obtained from tomato plants showing leaf curl symptoms in Henan and Guangxi Provinces of China. Complete nucleotide sequences of 5 representative isolates (AJ558116, AJ558117, AJ704604, FN256260, and FN297834) were determined to be 2738–2751 nucleotides, which share 91.7%–97.9% sequence identities with PaLCuCNV isolate G2 (AJ558123). DNA-β was not found to be associated with PaLCuCNV isolates. To investigate the infectivity of PaLCuCNV, an infectious clone of PaLCuCNV-[CN:HeNZM1] was constructed and agro-inoculated into Nicotiana benthamiana, N. tabacum Samsun, N. glutinosa, Solanum lycopersicum and Petunia hybrida plants, which induced severe leaf curling and crinkling symptoms in these plants. Southern blot analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicated a systemic infection of test plants by the agro-infectious clone.

Genetic determinants of symptoms on viral DNA satellites.

ABSTRACT Begomovirus-DNA-β disease complexes induce different symptom phenotypes in their hosts. To investigate the genetic determinants of the phenotypic differences, Nicotiana spp. and tomato plants were inoculated with infectious clones of Tobacco curly shoot virus (TbCSV)/TbCSV DNA-β (TbCSB) and Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV)/TYLCCNV DNA-β (TYLCCNB) pseudorecombinants and showed that TYLCCNB induced characteristic vein-thickening and enation symptoms, while TbCSB only slightly exacerbated the leaf-curling symptoms, regardless of the helper virus being used. The roles of DNA-β-encoded βC1 and a 430-nucleotide fragment containing the A-rich region and the putative βC1 promoter region of the βC1 gene (referred to as AP) in symptom development were further investigated by constructing hybrid satellites in which the βC1 coding region or AP was exchanged between the two satellite molecules. A TYLCCNB hybrid with TbCSB βC1 lost the ability to elicit the vein-thickening and enation phenotypes. TbCSB hybrids containing the TYLCCNB βC1 or AP fragment failed to induce the characteristic vein thickening and enations. A TYLCCNB hybrid having the TbCSB AP fragment produced the enations, but the number of enations was less and their sizes were reduced. Differently from the phloem-specific pattern of the TYLCCNB promoter, a full-length fragment upstream of the TbCSB βC1 gene confers a constitutive β-glucuronidase expression pattern in transgenic tobacco plants. The above results indicate that the DNA-β-encoded βC1 protein is the symptom determinant, but the promoter of the βC1 gene has influence on symptom production.

Identification of Himetobi P virus in the small brown planthopper by deep sequencing and assembly of virus-derived small interfering RNAs

Profiling and assembly of virus-derived small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) using next-generation sequencing technologies have been very useful for identification and diagnosis of a number of plant and invertebrate viruses. In this work, we have conducted high-throughput pyrosequencing and bioinformatic analysis of the small brown planthopper (SBPH, Laodelphax striatellus), and these analyses unexpectedly showed that the Himetobi P virus (HiPV) was present in our laboratory cultures. HiPV was also found to infect our brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) and the white-backed planthopper (WBPH, Sogatella furcifera) cultures. The majority of the HiPV-derived siRNAs (Hd-siRNAs) were 21 and 22 nucleotides in length and nearly two-thirds of the siRNAs originated from the HiPV genomic RNA strand. The Hd-siRNAs were evenly distributed across the genome and this indicates that the HiPV genome contributes uniformly to production of Hd-siRNAs. Although HiPV infection appeared to be innocuous to the SBPH, alterations of gene expressions involved in reproduction, cytoskeleton structure and defense responses such as RNA interference pathways (RNAi) genes were observed. Furthermore, we demonstrated that silencing Agronaute 2 in L. striatellus enhanced HiPV accumulation, and this observation provides evidence for the existence of RNAi defenses against HiPV in the SBPH.

Characterization of a Novel Polerovirus Infecting Maize in China

A novel virus, tentatively named Maize Yellow Mosaic Virus (MaYMV), was identified from the field-grown maize plants showing yellow mosaic symptoms on the leaves collected from the Yunnan Province of China by the deep sequencing of small RNAs. The complete 5642 nucleotide (nt)-long genome of the MaYMV shared the highest nucleotide sequence identity (73%) to Maize Yellow Dwarf Virus-RMV. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses suggested that MaYMV represents a new member of the genus Polerovirus in the family Luteoviridae. Furthermore, the P0 protein encoded by MaYMV was demonstrated to inhibit both local and systemic RNA silencing by co-infiltration assays using transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c carrying the GFP reporter gene, which further supported the identification of a new polerovirus. The biologically-active cDNA clone of MaYMV was generated by inserting the full-length cDNA of MaYMV into the binary vector pCB301. RT-PCR and Northern blot analyses showed that this clone was systemically infectious upon agro-inoculation into N. benthamiana. Subsequently, 13 different isolates of MaYMV from field-grown maize plants in different geographical locations of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces of China were sequenced. Analyses of their molecular variation indicate that the 3′ half of P3–P5 read-through protein coding region was the most variable, whereas the coat protein- (CP-) and movement protein- (MP-)coding regions were the most conserved.

Monoclonal antibody-based serological methods for maize chlorotic mottle virus detection in China

Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) infects maize plants and causes significant losses in corn production worldwide. In this study, purified MCMV particles were used as the immunogen to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and polyclonal antibodies (PAbs). Four murine MAbs (4B8, 8C11, 6F4, and 9G1) against MCMV were obtained through the hybridoma technology. The triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA), dot-immunobinding assay (DIBA), and immunocapture reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) using the MAb 4B8 were then developed for sensitive, specific, and rapid detection of MCMV in fields. MCMV could be detected in infected leaf crude extracts at dilutions of 1:327 680, 1:64 000, and 1:3 276 800 (w/v, g/ml) by TAS-ELISA, DIBA, and IC-RT-PCR, respectively. One hundred and sixty-one maize field samples showing virus-like symptoms and sixty-nine symptomless maize field samples from ten different provinces of China were collected and screened for the presence of MCMV using the established serological methods. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the full length CP genes and Chinese MCMV isolates formed one branch with Thailand isolates. The detection results demonstrated that MCMV is one of most prevalent viruses infecting maize in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.

Identification of an RNA silencing suppressor encoded by a mastrevirus.

Wheat dwarf virus (WDV) is a DNA virus belonging to the genus Mastrevirus of the family Geminiviridae. In this study, we report that the Rep protein encoded by WDV is a RNA silencing supressor as determined by co-infiltration assays using transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c carrying the GFP reporter gene. The Rep protein was shown to inhibit both local and systemic RNA silencing of the GFP gene as well as the spread of systemic GFP RNA silencing signals. Gel mobility shift assays showed that the Rep protein binds 21 nt and 24 nt small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes and single-stranded (ss)-siRNA. To our knowledge, this is the first identification of an RNA silencing suppressor encoded by mastreviruses. Furthermore, deletion mutagenesis indicates that both the N- and C-terminal regions of the Rep protein are not critical for silencing suppression and self-interaction, but the N terminus of Rep is necessary for its pathogenicity.

The complete genome sequence of a novel maize-associated totivirus

Deep sequencing of small RNA (sRNA) populations in maize plants from southwest China resulted in the identification of a previously unknown dsRNA virus with a sequence and genome organization resembling that of a totivirus. The complete viral genome is 3,956 nucleotides in length and contains two open reading frames (ORFs) with the potential to produce a ORF1-ORF2 fusion protein through a -1 ribosomal frameshift translation mechanism. ORF1 encodes the putative capsid protein (CP), whereas the predicted product of ORF2 contains motifs typical of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Phylogenetic analysis using the amino acid sequences of putative RdRp fusion proteins showed that the new virus was grouped in a clade together with the totiviruses, suggesting that it is a new member of the genus Totivirus of the family Totiviridae. The virus is tentatively named “maize-associated totivirus (MATV)”. Our findings demonstrate that it is feasible to identify totiviruses by deep sequencing of small RNAs.