Abstract
In nature, plant viruses are mostly transmitted by hemipteran insects, such as aphids, leafhoppers, and whiteflies. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between virus and insect vector are poorly known. Here, we investigate the proteomic interactions between tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV, genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae), a plant virus, and its vector whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) species complex. First, using a yeast two-hybrid system, we identified 15 candidate whitefly proteins interacting with the coat protein of TYLCV. GO and KEGG pathway analysis implicated that these 15 whitefly proteins are of different biological functions/processes mainly including metabolic process, cell motility, signal transduction, and response to stimulus. We then found that the whitefly protein tumorous imaginal discs (Tid), one of the 15 whitefly proteins identified, had a stable interaction with TYLCV CP in vitro, and the DnaJ_C domain of Tid301−499aa may be the viral binding site. During viral retention, the expression of whitefly protein Tid was observed to increase at the protein level, and feeding whiteflies with dsRNA or antibody against Tid resulted in a higher quantity of TYLCV in the whitefly body, suggesting the role of Tid in antiviral infection. Our data indicate that the induction of Tid following viral acquisition is likely a whitefly immune response to TYLCV infection.
Highlights
Many plant viruses, such as species of the Luteoviridae, Geminiviridae, and Nanoviridae families, are transmitted by hemipteran insects in a persistent, circulative manner [1]
First, using the yeast two hybrid (Y2H) system, we identified 15 candidate whitefly proteins interacting with tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) coat protein (CP), including the evolutionarily highly conserved protein tumorous imaginal discs (Tid)
The results showed that Tid76−138aa and Tid239−299aa show no binding activity with TYLCV CP (Figure 6C); the binding site of TYLCV CP may be located in the C terminal of Tid-FL (Figure 6D)
Summary
Many plant viruses, such as species of the Luteoviridae, Geminiviridae, and Nanoviridae families, are transmitted by hemipteran insects in a persistent, circulative manner [1]. Afterwards, virions move along with the hemolymph and reach the salivary glands from which they are injected into plants together with whitefly saliva secretion [1, 2] During this circulative journey, viruses need to interact with the Whitefly Protein Inhibiting Virus Retention insect vector in a coordinated manner for successful transmission to occur; at the same time, viral infection may activate immune reactions from its vector [3, 4]. Begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) are a group of single-stranded circular DNA viruses, which are transmitted by whiteflies of the Bemisia tabaci species complex in a circulative manner [5, 6]. Similar to other begomoviruses and other circulatively transmitted viruses, ingested TYLCV moves along the path of stylet-midgut-hemolymph-salivary glands in whitefly vectors. A viral infection activates the whitefly autophagy pathway, which plays an important role in the antiviral response [13, 14]
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