Cotton Leaf Curl Multan virus C4 protein suppresses both transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing by interacting with SAM synthetase

PLoS Pathog. 2018 Aug 29;14(8):e1007282. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007282. eCollection 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Gene silencing is a natural antiviral defense mechanism in plants. For effective infection, plant viruses encode viral silencing suppressors to counter this plant antiviral response. The geminivirus-encoded C4 protein has been identified as a gene silencing suppressor, but the underlying mechanism of action has not been characterized. Here, we report that Cotton Leaf Curl Multan virus (CLCuMuV) C4 protein interacts with S-adenosyl methionine synthetase (SAMS), a core enzyme in the methyl cycle, and inhibits SAMS enzymatic activity. By contrast, an R13A mutation in C4 abolished its capacity to interact with SAMS and to suppress SAMS enzymatic activity. Overexpression of wild-type C4, but not mutant C4R13A, suppresses both transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) and post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Plants infected with CLCuMuV carrying C4R13A show decreased levels of symptoms and viral DNA accumulation associated with enhanced viral DNA methylation. Furthermore, silencing of NbSAMS2 reduces both TGS and PTGS, but enhanced plant susceptibility to two geminiviruses CLCuMuV and Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus. These data suggest that CLCuMuV C4 suppresses both TGS and PTGS by inhibiting SAMS activity to enhance CLCuMuV infection in plants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Begomovirus / metabolism
  • Begomovirus / pathogenicity*
  • Down-Regulation / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Gene Silencing*
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics
  • Methionine Adenosyltransferase / genetics
  • Methionine Adenosyltransferase / metabolism*
  • Nicotiana / genetics
  • Nicotiana / metabolism
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Protein Binding
  • RNA Interference*
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Viral Proteins / metabolism*
  • Viral Proteins / physiology

Substances

  • Viral Proteins
  • Methionine Adenosyltransferase

Supplementary concepts

  • Cotton leaf curl Multan virus

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB138400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31421001, 31530059, 31470254, 31370180 and 31701758), the National R&D Project of Transgenic Crops of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2016ZX08005-001, 2016ZX08009-003-001 and 2016ZX08009001-004). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.