Developmentally regulated Arabidopsis thaliana susceptibility to tomato spotted wilt virus infection |
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Authors: | Ying Huang Hao Hong Min Xu Jiaoling Yan Jing Dai Jianyan Wu Zhike Feng Min Zhu Zhongkai Zhang Xuefeng Yuan Xinshun Ding Xiaorong Tao |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Plant Pathology, the Key Laboratory of Plant Immunity, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China;2. Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Agri-Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Resources, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, China;3. Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Tai’an, China |
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Abstract: | Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most devastating plant viruses and often causes severe crop losses worldwide. Generally, mature plants become more resistant to pathogens, known as adult plant resistance. In this study, we demonstrated a new phenomenon involving developmentally regulated susceptibility of Arabidopsis thaliana to TSWV. We found that Arabidopsis plants become more susceptible to TSWV as plants mature. Most young 3-week-old Arabidopsis were not infected by TSWV. Infection of TSWV in 4-, 5-, and 6-week-old Arabidopsis increased from 9%, 21%, and 25%, respectively, to 100% in 7- to 8-week-old Arabidopsis plants. Different isolates of TSWV and different tospoviruses show a low rate of infection in young Arabidopsis but a high rate in mature plants. When Arabidopsis dcl2/3/4 or rdr1/2/6 mutant plants were inoculated with TSWV, similar results as observed for the wild-type Arabidopsis plants were obtained. A cell-to-cell movement assay showed that the intercellular movement efficiency of TSWV NSm:GFP fusion was significantly higher in 8-week-old Arabidopsis leaves compared with 4-week-old Arabidopsis leaves. Moreover, the expression levels of pectin methylesterase and β-1,3-glucanase, which play critical roles in macromolecule cell-to-cell trafficking, were significantly up-regulated in 8-week-old Arabidopsis leaves compared with 4-week-old Arabidopsis leaves during TSWV infection. To date, this mature plant susceptibility to pathogen infections has rarely been investigated. Thus, the findings presented here should advance our knowledge on the developmentally regulated mature host susceptibility to plant virus infection. |
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Keywords: | Arabidopsis thaliana developmentally regulated susceptibility mature-dependent pathogen infection Tomato spotted wilt virus |
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