Characterization of silencing suppressor 2b of cucumber mosaic virus based on examination of its small RNA-binding abilities

Plant Cell Physiol. 2007 Jul;48(7):1050-60. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcm074. Epub 2007 Jun 13.

Abstract

Double-stranded (ds) RNAs and imperfect hairpin RNAs of endogenous genes trigger post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and are cleaved by a Dicer-like nuclease into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNs (miRNAs), respectively. Such small RNAs (siRNAs and miRNAs) then guide an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) for sequence-specific RNA degradation. While PTGS serves as an antiviral defense in plants, many plant viruses encode suppressors as a counter defense. Here we demonstrate that the PTGS suppressor (2b) of a severe strain (CM95R) of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) can bind to in vitro synthesized siRNAs and even to long dsRNAs to a lesser extent. However, the 2b suppressor weakly bound to a miRNA (miR171) duplex in contrast to another small RNA-binding suppressor, p19 of tombusvirus that can effectively bind miRNAs. Because the 2b suppressor of an attenuated strain of CMV (CM95), which differs in a single amino acid from the 2b of CM95R, could barely bind siRNAs, we hypothesized that the weak suppressor activity of the attenuated strain resulted from a loss of the siRNA-binding property of 2b via a single amino acid change. Here we consider that 2b interferes with the PTGS pathway by directly binding siRNAs (or long dsRNA).

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • Cell Line
  • Cucumovirus / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Gene Silencing*
  • Genes, Plant / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nicotiana / genetics
  • Onions / cytology
  • Onions / genetics
  • Onions / virology
  • Petunia / cytology
  • Petunia / genetics
  • Petunia / virology
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • RNA, Small Interfering / genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Viral Proteins / chemistry
  • Viral Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Viral Proteins