Arabidopsis ENOR3 regulates RNAi-mediated antiviral defense

Publication date: Available online 24 December 2017
Source:Journal of Genetics and Genomics
Author(s): Hua Gao, Mai Yang, Haitao Yang, Yue Qin, Biyun Zhu, Gang Xu, Chengyuan Xie, Dewei Wu, Xiaolin Zhang, Wanxiang Li, Jianbin Yan, Susheng Song, Tiancong Qi, Shou-Wei Ding, Daoxin Xie
Viruses can infect host plants to cause severe diseases and substantial agricultural loss, while plants have evolved RNA interference (RNAi) strategy to defend against viral infection. Despite enormous efforts, only a few host proteins in RNAi pathway were shown to mediate antiviral defense, including RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1 (RDR1), RDR6, DICER-LIKE 2 (DCL2) and DCL4. In this study, we carried out a genetic screen for antiviral factors of RNAi pathway in Arabidopsis rdr6 background via inoculation with a 2b-deficient Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV-Δ2b). We identified a mutant susceptible to CMV-Δ2b, referred to as enhancer of rdr6 (enor) 3-1 rdr6, and found that ENOR3 encodes a functionally unknown protein with high homology to the mammalian Non Imprinted in Prader-Willi/Angelman (NIPA) magnesium transporters. ENOR3 inhibits accumulation of CMV-Δ2b and acts additively with RDR1, RDR6, DCL2 and DCL4 in antiviral defense. These results uncover that ENOR3 is a key component in antiviral RNAi pathway, and provide new insights into antiviral immunity.



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