2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Frontier of research on antiviral immunity in phytopathogenic filamentous fugi
| Project/Area Number |
17H01463
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Plant protection science
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| Research Institution | Okayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
Suzuki Nobuhiro 岡山大学, 資源植物科学研究所, 教授 (70206514)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
近藤 秀樹 岡山大学, 資源植物科学研究所, 准教授 (40263628)
兵頭 究 岡山大学, 資源植物科学研究所, 准教授 (80757881)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | 植物病原糸状菌 / RNAサイレンシング / RNAi / マイコウイルス / dsRNA / 自然免疫 / マイコイミュニティ / 抗ウイルス防御反応 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The objective of this project is to explore RNA silencing (RNAi) against fungal viruses in plant pathogenic filamentous fungi. A great progress has been made, leading to several breakthroughs: 1) Discovery of RNAi mediated antiviral defense that requires Dicer but not AGO in the chestnut blight fungus, 2) Identification of the SAGA complex as a transcriptional regulator of fungal RNA silencing, 3) Discovery of a novel antiviral defense mechanism by which virus-induced symptom expression is alleviated by transcriptional upregulation of many host genes upon virus infection in C. parasitica, and 4) Identification of Dicer and SAGA (universal transcriptional coactivator) as the key transcriptional regulators in the new defense, indicating the dual role of Dicer at the post-transcriptional and transcriptional levels. These findings will bring about a paradigm shift in RNAi. Fungi are now being established as the third position next to animals and plants in antiviral defense research.
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| Free Research Field |
植物病理学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
RNAiは酵母からヒトまで保存された転写後遺伝子発現抑制機構である。上記成果で述べられている様に、転写後に機能すると考えられていたDicerが新規防御機構で宿主遺伝子の転写に関与すること、さらにはエフェクターであるAGOが不要の抗ウイルスRNAiの発見は関連分野に大きな衝撃を与えている。また、真核生物に広く保存されたSAGA複合体（一般的な転写コアクティベーター）が関与する新規ウイルス防御反応の発見も、その普遍性、制御機作など新たな興味深い研究課題を提供する。
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