Analysis of plant RNA virus-mediated inhibition of programmed cell death

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26850231
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied molecular and cellular biology
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Komatsu Ken 東京農工大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 特任准教授 (60451837)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 植物ウイルス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Plantago asiatica mosaic virus (PlAMV) is a plant RNA virus and induces systemic necrosis in its infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants, which is associated with programmed cell death (PCD). In this project, we constructed PlAMV mutants and analyzed its necrosis-inducing ability, and found that PlAMV with mutation in its coat protein (CP) gene induced more severe necrosis in plants. This enhancement of necrosis-inducing ability is also observed in a PlAMV mutant that possesses leucine (residue in the 3rd position of CP) to alanine (L3A) mutation, which is important for its cell-to-cell movement function. Moreover, although yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed interaction between CP and helicase domain (HEL) of a replicase, which is an elicitor of necrosis, L3A mutation of CP did not abolish this interaction. This implied that CP and HEL interaction is not responsible for the PCD (necrosis) inhibition by CP.

Free Research Field

植物病理学