C2 from Beet curly top virus meddles with the cell cycle: a novel function for an old pathogenicity factor.
Geminiviruses are ssDNA plant viruses that infect a wide range of crops. Since geminiviruses often infect terminally differentiated cells, they must induce cell cycle re-entry in order to replicate; until recently, only two viral proteins, the replication-associated protein Rep and the curtoviral pathogenicity factor C4, had been assigned a role in the restoration of cell competency. In a recent work, we demonstrated that C2 from Beet curly top virus activates the expression of host genes involved in DNA replication and/or control of the G2/M transition in a manner consistent with cell cycle re-entry. As expected, expression of BCTV C2 results in enhanced replication of DNA viruses. We conclude that BCTV C2 acts as a re-activator of the cell cycle in infected cells, enhancing the DNA replication competency and providing a cell environment favorable for replication of geminiviruses. Potential mechanisms for this novel function are discussed in light of our findings.
Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea La Mayora, Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Department Biología Celular, Genética y Fisiología, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
Rosa
R
Lozano-Duran
Zaira
Z
Caracuel
Eduardo R
ER
Bejarano
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D017791:Geminiviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D014764:Viral Proteins