title: C2 from Beet curly top virus promotes a cell environment suitable for efficient replication of geminiviruses, providing a novel mechanism of viral synergism.
abstract: • Geminiviruses are plant viruses with circular, single-stranded (ss) DNA genomes that infect a wide range of species and cause important losses in agriculture. Geminiviruses do not encode their own DNA polymerase, and rely on the host cell machinery for their replication. • Here, we identify a positive effect of the curtovirus Beet curly top virus (BCTV) on the begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV) infection in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. • Our results show that this positive effect is caused by the promotion of TYLCSV replication by BCTV C2. Transcriptomic analyses of plants expressing C2 unveil an up-regulation of cell cycle-related genes induced on cell cycle re-entry; experiments with two mutated versions of C2 indicate that this function resides in the N-terminal part of C2, which is also sufficient to enhance geminiviral replication. Moreover, C2 expression promotes the replication of other geminiviral species, but not of RNA viruses. • We conclude that BCTV C2 has a novel function in the promotion of viral replication, probably by restoring the DNA replication competency of the infected cells and thus creating a favourable cell environment for viral spread. Because C2 seems to have a broad impact on the replication of geminiviruses, this mechanism might have important epidemiological implications.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea 'La Mayora', Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Departamento Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Zaira
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Caracuel
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea 'La Mayora', Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Departamento Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lozano-Durán
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche en Génomique Végétale (URGV), UMR INRA 1165 - Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne - ERL CNRS 8196, 2 rue G. Crémieux, CP 5708, F-91057 Evry Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huguet
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea 'La Mayora', Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Departamento Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arroyo-Mateos
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea 'La Mayora', Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Departamento Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Edgar A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Negrete
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea 'La Mayora', Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Departamento Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Bejarano
mesh_terms: D053839:Begomovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D027461:Beta vulgaris / Q000821:virology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017791:Geminiviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000821:virology*; D009154:Mutation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000821:virology; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000821:virology*; D059467:Transcriptome; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins