N6-methyladenosine RNA modification promotes viral genomic RNA stability and infection

Tianye Zhang, Chaonan Shi, Haichao Hu, Zhuo Zhang, Ziqiong Wang, Zhiqing Chen, Huimin Feng, Peng Liu, Jun Guo, Qisen Lu, Kaili Zhong, Zhi Hui Chen, Jiaqian Liu, Jiancheng Yu, Jianping Chen (Lead / Corresponding author), Jian Yang (Lead / Corresponding author), Feng Chen (Lead / Corresponding author)

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    27 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Molecular manipulation of susceptibility (S) genes that are antipodes to resistance (R) genes has been adopted as an alternative strategy for controlling crop diseases. Here, we show the S gene encoding Triticum aestivum m6A methyltransferase B (TaMTB) is identified by a genome-wide association study and subsequently shown to be a positive regulator for wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) infection. TaMTB is localized in the nucleus, is translocated into the cytoplasmic aggregates by binding to WYMV NIb to upregulate the m6A level of WYMV RNA1 and stabilize the viral RNA, thus promoting viral infection. A natural mutant allele TaMTB-SNP176C is found to confer an enhanced susceptibility to WYMV infection through genetic variation analysis on 243 wheat varieties. Our discovery highlights this allele can be a useful target for the molecular wheat breeding in the future.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number6576
    Number of pages16
    JournalNature Communications
    Volume13
    Issue number1
    Early online date2 Nov 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
    • General
    • General Physics and Astronomy

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