Co-opting of a host proton pump for replication of plant RNA viruses

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K15841
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 39040:Plant protection science-related
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: HYODO Kiwamu 岡山大学, 資源植物科学研究所, 准教授 (80757881)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 植物RNAウイルス / ゲノムRNA複製 / 液胞型ATPアーゼ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Plant viruses are important pathogens that cause serious crop losses worldwide. Because of the limited number of virally encoded proteins, plant viruses need to subvert the host cell machinery for their own functions, ultimately creating a cellular environment favorable to the infection. For this purpose, plant viruses co-opt an array of host-derived factors (referred to as proviral host factors) to establish viral infection, in which viruses remodel their functions to facilitate every step of the viral life cycle. The identification of the global landscape of plant-virus interactions at the molecular level advances the understanding of the viral infection process and may assist in the development of novel antiviral strategies. This study identified the host vacuolar-type H+ ATPase as a new proviral host factor for several plant positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses.

Free Research Field

植物ウイルス学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

植物ウイルスが感染に利用する宿主因子の同定・機能解析はウイルス感染の分子メカニズム解明に必須であり、ひいては、ウイルス感染に対する新規防除法開発に向けた分子基盤整備に貢献する。本研究では、red clover necrotic mosaic virusを含む複数の植物RNAウイルスに共通の宿主因子として液胞型ATPアーゼを同定した。本因子は広範な植物RNAウイルスに対する抵抗性付与に向けて有用な分子標的の一つとなると考えられる。但し、今後、液胞型ATPアーゼがどのようにしてウイルス感染を促進するのか、その分子メカニズムの詳細を明らかにする必要がある。