Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>
RNA silencing is a sequence specific post-transcriptional mechanism regulating important biological processes including antiviral defense in plants. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, the catalytic subunits of the silencing complexes, are loaded with small RNAs to execute the sequence specific RNA cleavage o...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/867 |
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| author | Erzsébet Kenesi Juan-Jose Lopez-Moya László Orosz József Burgyán Lóránt Lakatos |
| author_facet | Erzsébet Kenesi Juan-Jose Lopez-Moya László Orosz József Burgyán Lóránt Lakatos |
| author_sort | Erzsébet Kenesi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | RNA silencing is a sequence specific post-transcriptional mechanism regulating important biological processes including antiviral defense in plants. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, the catalytic subunits of the silencing complexes, are loaded with small RNAs to execute the sequence specific RNA cleavage or translational inhibition. Plants encode several AGO proteins and a few of them, especially AGO1 and AGO2, have been shown to be required for antiviral silencing. Previously, we have shown that the P1 protein of the sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV) suppresses the primary RNA silencing response by inhibiting AGO1. To analyze the role of AGO2 in antiviral defense against the SPMMV, we performed a comparative study using a wild type and ago2<sup>−/−</sup> mutant <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>. Here we show that the AGO2 of <i>N. benthamiana</i> attenuates the symptoms of SPMMV infection. Upon SPMMV infection the levels of AGO2 mRNA and protein are greatly increased. Moreover, we found that AGO2 proteins are loaded with SPMMV derived viral small RNAs as well as with miRNAs. Our results indicate that AGO2 protein takes over the place of AGO1 to confer antiviral silencing. Finally, we provide a plausible explanation for the AGO2 mediated recovery of an SPMMV-infected sweet potato. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:58:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-876559dda2e14317a9d8ec13c505eea0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:58:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-876559dda2e14317a9d8ec13c505eea02023-11-21T17:11:06ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-04-0110586710.3390/plants10050867Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>Erzsébet Kenesi0Juan-Jose Lopez-Moya1László Orosz2József Burgyán3Lóránt Lakatos4Biological Research Center Szeged, Institute of Plant Biology, Photo- and Chronobiology Group Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), H-6726 Szeged, HungaryCentre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology, University of Szeged, H-6720 Szeged, HungaryAgricultural Biotechnology Institute, National Agricultural Research and Innovation, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryBiological Research Center Szeged, Institute of Plant Biology, Photo- and Chronobiology Group Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), H-6726 Szeged, HungaryRNA silencing is a sequence specific post-transcriptional mechanism regulating important biological processes including antiviral defense in plants. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, the catalytic subunits of the silencing complexes, are loaded with small RNAs to execute the sequence specific RNA cleavage or translational inhibition. Plants encode several AGO proteins and a few of them, especially AGO1 and AGO2, have been shown to be required for antiviral silencing. Previously, we have shown that the P1 protein of the sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV) suppresses the primary RNA silencing response by inhibiting AGO1. To analyze the role of AGO2 in antiviral defense against the SPMMV, we performed a comparative study using a wild type and ago2<sup>−/−</sup> mutant <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i>. Here we show that the AGO2 of <i>N. benthamiana</i> attenuates the symptoms of SPMMV infection. Upon SPMMV infection the levels of AGO2 mRNA and protein are greatly increased. Moreover, we found that AGO2 proteins are loaded with SPMMV derived viral small RNAs as well as with miRNAs. Our results indicate that AGO2 protein takes over the place of AGO1 to confer antiviral silencing. Finally, we provide a plausible explanation for the AGO2 mediated recovery of an SPMMV-infected sweet potato.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/867RNA silencingAGO1AGO2sweet potato mild mottle virus |
| spellingShingle | Erzsébet Kenesi Juan-Jose Lopez-Moya László Orosz József Burgyán Lóránt Lakatos Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> Plants RNA silencing AGO1 AGO2 sweet potato mild mottle virus |
| title | Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> |
| title_full | Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> |
| title_fullStr | Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> |
| title_short | Argonaute 2 Controls Antiviral Activity against Sweet Potato Mild Mottle Virus in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> |
| title_sort | argonaute 2 controls antiviral activity against sweet potato mild mottle virus in i nicotiana benthamiana i |
| topic | RNA silencing AGO1 AGO2 sweet potato mild mottle virus |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/867 |
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