Diverse RNA viruses elicit the expression of common sets of genes in susceptible Arabidopsis thaliana plants.
Systemic infections of plants by viruses require that viruses modify host cells in order to facilitate infections. These modifications include induction of host factors required for replication, propagation and movement, and suppression of host defense responses, which are likely to be associated with changes in host gene expression. Past studies of the effects of viral infection on gene expression in susceptible hosts have been limited to only a handful of genes. To gain broader insight into the responses elicited by viruses in susceptible hosts, high-density oligonucleotide probe microarray technology was used. Arabidopsis leaves were either mock inoculated or inoculated with cucumber mosaic cucumovirus, oil seed rape tobamovirus, turnip vein clearing tobamovirus, potato virus X potexvirus, or turnip mosaic potyvirus. Inoculated leaves were collected at 1, 2, 4, and 5 days after inoculation, total RNA was isolated, and samples were hybridized to Arabidopsis GeneChip microarrays (Affymetrix). Microarray hybridization revealed co-ordinated changes in gene expression in response to infection by diverse viruses. These changes include virus-general and virus-specific alterations in the expression of genes associated with distinct defense or stress responses. Analyses of the promoters of these genes further suggest that diverse RNA viruses elicit common responses in susceptible plant hosts through signaling pathways that have not been previously characterized.
Whitham
Steven A
SA
Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1020, USA. swhitham@iastate.edu
Quan
Sheng
S
Chang
Hur-Song
HS
Cooper
Bret
B
Estes
Bram
B
Zhu
Tong
T
Wang
Xun
X
Hou
Yu-Ming
YM
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000502:physiology*