First Report of Tomato infectious chlorosis virus on Tomato in Bulgaria

Virus‐like chlorotic symptoms were observed on tomato plants, cv. Velocity, grown in a greenhouse, region of Plovdiv. Samples collected from the leaves with interveinal yellowing and with initial interveinal chlorosis were tested for virus presence. Only the samples collected from the upper leaves with slight interveinal chlorosis were positive for Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) in indirect ELISA. Further, RT‐PCR analysis with specific primers for Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) heat shock protein 70, for TICV heat shock protein 70 and for TICV minor capsid protein was positive for TICV in all tested samples. No signals were obtained with primers for ToCV. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Bulgarian sequence of Hsp70 and a sequence of Greek isolate clustered together having the highest resampling score. Regarding CPm, the Bulgarian isolate was more relevant to the French isolate. The obtained results from phylogenetic analysis supported the idea of a close relationship between the Bulgarian and Greek isolates.     

Cross-talking between autophagy and viral infection in mammalian cells

Autophagy is a cellular process in degradation of long-lived proteins and organelles in the cytosol for maintaining cellular homeostasis, which has been linked to a wide range of human health and disease states, including viral infection. The viral infected cells exhibit a complicated cross-talking between autophagy and virus. It has been shown that autophagy interacts with both adaptive and innate immunity. For adaptive immunity, viral antigens can be processed in autophagosomes by acidic proteases before major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II presentation. For innate immunity, autophagy may assist in the delivery of viral nucleic acids to endosomal TLRs and also functions as a part of the TLR-or-PKR-downstream responses. Autophagy was also reported to suppress the magnitude of host innate antiviral immunity in certain cases. On the other hand, viruses has evolved many strategies to combat or utilize the host autophagy for their own benefit. In this review we discussed recent advances toward clarifying the cross-talking between autophagy and viral infection in mammalian cells.     

Plant Bax Inhibitor-1 interacts with ATG6 to regulate autophagy and programmed cell death

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process and is involved in the regulation of programmed cell death during the plant immune response. However, mechanisms regulating autophagy and cell death are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that plant Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1), a highly conserved cell death regulator, interacts with ATG6, a core autophagy-related protein. Silencing of BI-1 reduced the autophagic activity induced by both N gene-mediated resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and methyl viologen (MV), and enhanced N gene-mediated cell death. In contrast, overexpression of plant BI-1 increased autophagic activity and surprisingly caused autophagy-dependent cell death. These results suggest that plant BI-1 has both prosurvival and prodeath effects in different physiological contexts and both depend on autophagic activity.     

ABHD5 interacts with BECN1 to regulate autophagy and tumorigenesis of colon cancer independent of PNPLA2

Autophagy critically contributes to metabolic reprogramming and chromosomal stability. It has been reported that monoallelic loss of the essential autophagy gene BECN1 (encoding BECN1/Beclin 1) promotes cancer development and progression. However, the mechanism by which BECN1 is inactivated in malignancy remains largely elusive. We have previously reported a tumor suppressor role of ABHD5 (abhydrolase domain containing 5), a co-activator of PNPLA2 (patatin like phospholipase domain containing 2) in colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Here we report a noncanonical role of ABHD5 in regulating autophagy and CRC tumorigenesis. ABHD5 directly competes with CASP3 for binding to the cleavage sites of BECN1, and consequently prevents BECN1 from being cleaved by CASP3. ABHD5 deficiency provides CASP3 an advantage to cleave and inactivate BECN1, thus impairing BECN1-induced autophagic flux and augmenting genomic instability, which subsequently promotes tumorigenesis. Notably, clinical data also confirm that ABHD5 proficiency is significantly correlated with the expression levels of BECN1, LC3-II and CASP3 in human CRC tissues. Our findings suggest that ABHD5 possesses a PNPLA2-independent function in regulating autophagy and tumorigenesis, further establishing the tumor suppressor role of ABHD5, and offering an opportunity to develop new approaches aimed at preventing CRC carcinogenesis.     

Interveinal Yellowing Caused by Tomato infectious chlorosis virus in Lettuce and Escarole in Southern Italy

In 2005 and 2006, a severe disease of lettuce and escarole, characterized by interveinal yellowing of the leaves, was observed in the Calabria region (Southern Italy). Samples collected were positive in RT‐PCR assay when specific primers for Crinivirus were used. The identity of the virus was determined by using Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV)‐specific primers and probe. An amplicon of the same size (501 bp) as that from TICV‐infected tomato controls, corresponding to the partial Hsp70 viral gene, was obtained from 36 of 40 lettuce samples and from 19 of 24 escarole samples tested in 2005. The sequences obtained had 99–100% nucleotide sequence identity with other TICV sequences. In an extensive survey carried out in 2006 with TICV‐specific probe, 92% of symptomatic lettuce and 89% of escarole samples were infected with TICV. Adults of Trialeurodes vaporariorum, harvested from symptomatic lettuce and escarole plants, transmitted the virus to healthy plants of the same species. This is the first evidence of a disease caused by TICV in lettuce in Italy and the first record of TICV infection in escarole.     

Inhibitory effect of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid on ROS,autophagy formation,and mRNA replication for influenza virus infection

Influenza virus has had a high rate of antigenic shift and drift that causes significant morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. The lack of excellent pharmacological treatment underlines the importance of the development of the novel antiviral drugs. We investigated the anti‐influenza A and B viruses of 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D), which is the synthetic analog to auxin and is used as a popular herbicide in the agricultural practices. 2,4‐D was evaluated using a cytopathic effect reduction method; assay results showed that 2,4‐D possessed strong anti‐influenza A and B viruses inhibiting the formation of a visible cytopathic effect. Influenza viral RNA expression was performed by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. 2,4‐D also inhibited virus replication in the early stage of influenza virus infection without direct interaction with virus particles. Additionally, 2,4‐D significantly inhibited various factors occur during influenza virus infection as the acidic vesicular formation and reactive oxygen species production. Moreover, 2,4‐D represented no cytotoxicity in normal kidney cell. Therefore, these findings provide an understanding of the mechanism and efficient use of 2,4‐D in pharmacological applications against influenza virus infection.     

Molecular Detection and Complete Genome Sequences of Tomato chlorosis virus Isolates from Infectious Outbreaks in China

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) is a whitefly‐transmitted, phloem‐limited, bipartite Crinivirus. In 2012, severe interveinal symptoms characteristic of ToCV infections were observed in greenhouse tomato plants in the Shandong province of China. High levels of infestation by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), which transmit ToCV, were also observed on tomato plants in all the greenhouses investigated. The presence of ToCV was confirmed by specific RT‐PCR either in the sampled plants or in the whiteflies collected from the ventral surface of the leaves of diseased plants. The complete genomic nucleotide sequences (RNA1 and RNA2) of the Shandong isolate of ToCV (ToCV‐SDSG) were determined and analysed. ToCV‐SDSG RNA1 consisted of 8594 nucleotides encompassing four open reading frames (ORFs). ToCV‐SDSG RNA2 consisted of 8242 nucleotides encompassing nine ORFs. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Chinese ToCV‐SDSG isolate is most similar to the ToCV‐Florida isolate.     

番茄Tm-22基因在烟草中的表达及其对番茄花叶病毒(ToMV)的特异抗性

Tm-2^2基因在烟草上的转化和表达表明,Tm-2^2基因在同科不同属植物体上的功能没有改变。在两种类型的纯合转化体上,Tm-2^2基因编码蛋白能够抗Tobamovirus属5种不同的毒株,并能被ToMV-2a毒株感染而失去抗病性。这个结果表明：移动蛋白上的氨基酸变异能够影响R蛋白对ToMV的应答反应。Tm-2^2基因转化体在不同启动子的调控下,对ToMV-2a毒株感染所表现的症状不同,说明启动子在Tm-2^2基因的抗病反应中具有非常重要的作用。     

miR-34a-5p was involved in chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced autophagy of human coronary artery endothelial cells via Bcl-2/beclin 1 signal transduction pathway

Autophagy refers to the genetically regulated process to regulate the survival and death of cells, which is conserved in evolution. Typically, autophagy exerts a vital part under physiopathological conditions. Whether autophagy can be resulted from chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), a prominent characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), remains to be investigated. Furthermore, microRNAs (miRNAs) can serve as the regulating factors in a variety of benign and malignant diseases; nonetheless, it remains to be fully illustrated about the way by which miRNAs modulate autophagy. According to our results, for human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs), CIH increased the expression of autophagy-associated proteins, which depended on the concentration and time; besides, it could promote autophagic vacuole (AV) formation. In addition, CIH could activate beclin 1, which was dependent on dose and time. In HCAECs, microRNA-34a-5p (miR-34a-5p) was overexpressed after exposed to CIH, and its target protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) was downregulated. Moreover, inhibiting miR-34a-5p increased Bcl-2 and p62 expression, while downregulating beclin 1, Vps34, Atg5, and LC3 levels, implying the role of miR-34a-5p in CIH-induced autophagy. Moreover, exogenous upregulation of Bcl-2 could block miR-34a-5p influence on CIH-induced autophagy through suppressing beclin 1 expression. Additionally, beclin 1 could enhance the autophagy induced by CIH. In conclusion, overexpression of miR-34a-5p activated beclin 1 through Bcl-2 inhibition in CIH and participated in CIH-induced autophagy.     

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus infection of tomato does not affect the performance of the Q and ZHJ2 biotypes of the viral vector Bemisia tabaci

Abstract To better understand the etiology of begomovirus epidemics in regions under invasion we need to know how indigenous and invasive whitefly vectors respond to virus infection. We investigated both direct and indirect effects of infection with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) on the performance of the invasive Q biotype and the indigenous Asian ZHJ2 biotype of whitefly Bemisia tabaci. The Q biotype performed better than the ZHJ2 biotype on either uninfected or virus‐infected tomato plants. However, virus‐infection of host plants did not, or only marginally affected, the performance of either biotype of whiteflies in terms of fecundity, longevity, survival, development and population increase. Likewise, association of the vectors with TYLCV did not affect fecundity and longevity of the Q or ZHJ2 biotypes on cotton, a non‐host of TYLCV. These results indicate that the alien Q biotype whitefly, but not the indigenous ZHJ2 biotype, is likely to become the major vector of TYLCV in the field and facilitate virus epidemics.     

BECN1-dependent CASP2 incomplete autophagy induction by binding to rabies virus phosphoprotein

Autophagy is an essential component of host immunity and used by viruses for survival. However, the autophagy signaling pathways involved in virus replication are poorly documented. Here, we observed that rabies virus (RABV) infection triggered intracellular autophagosome accumulation and results in incomplete autophagy by inhibiting autophagy flux. Subsequently, we found that RABV infection induced the reduction of CASP2/caspase 2 and the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-AKT-MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) and AMPK-MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathways. Further investigation revealed that BECN1/Beclin 1 binding to viral phosphoprotein (P) induced an incomplete autophagy via activating the pathways CASP2-AMPK-AKT-MTOR and CASP2-AMPK-MAPK by decreasing CASP2. Taken together, our data first reveals a crosstalk of BECN1 and CASP2-dependent autophagy pathways by RABV infection.     

The autophagy pathway participates in resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus infection in whiteflies

Macroautophagy/autophagy plays an important role against pathogen infection in mammals and plants. However, little has been known about the role of autophagy in the interactions of insect vectors with the plant viruses, which they transmit. Begomoviruses are a group of single-stranded DNA viruses and are exclusively transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in a circulative manner. In this study, we found that the infection of a begomovirus, tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) could activate the autophagy pathway in the Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) species of the B. tabaci complex as evidenced by the formation of autophagosomes and ATG8-II. Interestingly, the activation of autophagy led to the subsequent degradation of TYLCV coat protein (CP) and genomic DNA. While feeding the whitefly with 2 autophagy inhibitors (3-methyladenine and bafilomycin A₁) and silencing the expression of Atg3 and Atg9 increased the viral load; autophagy activation via feeding of rapamycin notably decreased the amount of viral CP and DNA in the whitefly. Furthermore, we found that activation of whitefly autophagy could inhibit the efficiency of virus transmission; whereas inhibiting autophagy facilitated virus transmission. Taken together, these results indicate that TYLCV infection can activate the whitefly autophagy pathway, which leads to the subsequent degradation of virus. Furthermore, our report proves that an insect vector uses autophagy as an intrinsic antiviral program to repress the infection of a circulative-transmitted plant virus. Our data also demonstrate that TYLCV may replicate and trigger complex interactions with the insect vector.     

Laodelphax striatellus Atg8 facilitates Rice stripe virus infection in an autophagy-independent manner

Rice stripe virus(RSV)is the causative agent of rice stripe disease and is completely dependent on insect vectors for its plant-to-plant transmission.Laodelphax striatellus is the major insect vector for RSV.In this study,we explored the interactions be-tween RSV infection and L.striatellus autophagy,a potential intrinsic antiviral mechanism in insects.We found that L.striatellus autophagic activity did not affect RSV infection;however,the autophagy related-8(Atg8)gene significantly enhanced virus infection.Dur-ing RSV initial infection within the L.striatellus midgut,silencing of Atg8 expression significantly decreased the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase(p-JNK);however,when RSV infection is absent,silencing of Atg8 did not alter p-JNK levels.Thesc results indicated that Atg8 might activate the JNK machinery by allowing more virus infection into cells.We further revealed that Atg8-deficiency significantly decreased RSV accumu-lation on the surface of the insect midgut epithelial cells,suggesting a receptor trafficking function of the y-aminobutyric acid receptor-associated protein family.Using the RSV ovary entry as a model,in which vitellogenin receptor(V gR)mediates RSV cell entry,we clarified that Atg8-deficiency decreased the abundance of V gR localizing on the cytomem-brane and disturbed the attachment of RSV in the germarium zones.Collectively,these results revealed an autophagy-independent function of L.striatellus Atg8 that enhances RSV initial infection by increasing virus attachment on the infection sites.     

Complete Nucleotide Sequence of the RNA 3 of Bacopa chlorosis virus and Production of Polyclonal Antibodies to a Recombinant Coat Protein

The complete sequence of the RNA 3 of a virus causing chlorosis in Impatiens in Germany was determined and identified as an isolate of Bacopa chlorosis virus (BaCV, genus Ilarvirus). BaCV has previously only been reported from bacopa in the USA, but no coat protein (CP) sequence has been previously available. Both RNA 3 encoded proteins, CP and movement protein, showed highest sequence identity to Parietaria mottle virus, a subgroup 1 ilarvirus. Attempts to purify BaCV failed, so an antiserum was raised against a recombinant CP. The polyclonal antiserum so produced allowed specific detection of BaCV but showed no serological cross‐reaction with other ilarviruses and was unsuitable for immunoelectron microscopy. The host range includes many important flowering plant species, highlighting the potential threat BaCV might pose for the horticultural industry. This is the first report of BaCV occurring in Germany and outside the US.     

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus induces autophagy to promote virus replication

An increasing number of studies demonstrate that autophagy, an intrinsic mechanism that can degrade cytoplasmic components, is involved in the infection processes of a variety of pathogens. It can be hijacked by various viruses to facilitate their replication. In this study, we found that PRRSV infection significantly increases the number of double- or single-membrane vesicles in the cytoplasm of host cells in ultrastructural analysis. Our results showed the LC3-I was converted into LC3-II after virus infection, suggesting the autophagy machinery was activated. We further used pharmacological agents and shRNAs to confirm that autophagy promoted the replication of PRRSV in host cells. Confocal microscopy analysis showed that PRRSV inhibited the fusion between autophagosomes and lysosomes, suggesting that PRRSV induced incomplete autophagy. This suppression caused the accumulation of autophagosomes which may serve as replication site to enhance PRRSV replication. It has been shown that NSP2 and NSP3 of arterivirus are two components of virus replication complex. We also found in our studies that NSP2 colocalized with LC3 in MARC-145 cells by performing confocal microscopy analysis and continuous density gradient centrifugation. Our studies presented here indicated that autophagy was activated during PRRSV infection and enhanced PRRSV replication in host cells by preventing autophagosome and lysosome fusion.     

The C9orf72 protein interacts with Rab1a and the ULK1 complex to regulate initiation of autophagy

A GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (C9ALS/FTD). C9orf72 encodes two C9orf72 protein isoforms of unclear function. Reduced levels of C9orf72 expression have been reported in C9ALS/FTD patients, and although C9orf72 haploinsufficiency has been proposed to contribute to C9ALS/FTD, its significance is not yet clear. Here, we report that C9orf72 interacts with Rab1a and the Unc‐51‐like kinase 1 (ULK1) autophagy initiation complex. As a Rab1a effector, C9orf72 controls initiation of autophagy by regulating the Rab1a‐dependent trafficking of the ULK1 autophagy initiation complex to the phagophore. Accordingly, reduction of C9orf72 expression in cell lines and primary neurons attenuated autophagy and caused accumulation of p62‐positive puncta reminiscent of the p62 pathology observed in C9ALS/FTD patients. Finally, basal levels of autophagy were markedly reduced in C9ALS/FTD patient‐derived iNeurons. Thus, our data identify C9orf72 as a novel Rab1a effector in the regulation of autophagy and indicate that C9orf72 haploinsufficiency and associated reductions in autophagy might be the underlying cause of C9ALS/FTD‐associated p62 pathology.     

番茄褪绿病毒对MED烟粉虱成虫在不同寄主植物上的寄主选择性和取食行为的影响

【目的】由粉虱传播的番茄褪绿病毒(tomato chlorosis virus, ToCV)具有较强的暴发性和流行性,目前该病毒现已蔓延至世界各地,可为害多种作物,对农林经济生产造成严重危害。病毒侵染会影响介体昆虫的寄主选择性和取食行为,从而影响病毒传播。本研究旨在明确ToCV对MED烟粉虱Bemisia tabaci在不同寄主上的寄主选择性及取食行为的影响。【方法】利用Y型嗅觉仪测定携带和未携带ToCV的MED烟粉虱雌成虫的寄主选择性,利用刺吸电位(electrical penetration graph, EPG)技术比较携带和未携带ToCV的烟粉虱雌成虫在健康的番茄、辣椒、棉花和豇豆4种寄主植株上的取食行为差异。【结果】未携带ToCV的MED型烟粉虱雌成虫对于4种寄主植物的选择偏好性排序为番茄、辣椒>棉花>豇豆;携带ToCV烟粉虱雌成虫对4种寄主植物的选择性偏好性降低,排序为番茄、辣椒、棉花>豇豆。与未携带ToCV烟粉虱雌成虫相比,携带ToCV烟粉虱雌成虫取食4种植物所产生的刺探次数均显著增加,第1次到达韧皮部的时间有明显延后,取食总时间与韧皮部的取食时间明显减...