Clearance or Hijack: Universal Interplay Mechanisms Between Viruses and Host Autophagy From Plants to Animals.

Wenxian Wu,Maozhi Ren,Xiumei Luo

doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.786348

Abstract

Viruses typically hijack the cellular machinery of their hosts for successful infection and replication, while the hosts protect themselves against viral invasion through a variety of defense responses, including autophagy, an evolutionarily ancient catabolic pathway conserved from plants to animals. Double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes transport trapped viral cargo to lysosomes or vacuoles for degradation. However, during an ongoing evolutionary arms race, viruses have acquired a strong ability to disrupt or even exploit the autophagy machinery of their hosts for successful invasion. In this review, we analyze the universal role of autophagy in antiviral defenses in animals and plants and summarize how viruses evade host immune responses by disrupting and manipulating host autophagy. The review provides novel insights into the role of autophagy in virus–host interactions and offers potential targets for the prevention and control of viral infection in both plants and animals.

Highlights

Plant and animal viruses are among the most difficult “foes” to deal with
In the long-term “arms race” with their hosts, viruses have evolved a variety of strategies to inhibit and disrupt the autophagy pathway, thereby limiting the hosts’ antiviral ability, and even manipulate and use autophagy to enhance infection
We have reviewed the research progress related to the interaction between autophagy and viruses, and summarized the process of virophagy mediated by a variety of selective autophagy receptors

Summary

Introduction

Plant and animal viruses are among the most difficult “foes” to deal with. Plant virus infections can lead to a substantial decrease in crop yield and represent a serious threat to food security.

Results

Conclusion