title: Chloroplast: the Trojan horse in plant-virus interaction.
abstract: The chloroplast is one of the most dynamic organelles of a plant cell. It carries out photosynthesis, synthesizes major phytohormones, plays an active part in the defence response and is crucial for interorganelle signalling. Viruses, on the other hand, are extremely strategic in manipulating the internal environment of the host cell. The chloroplast, a prime target for viruses, undergoes enormous structural and functional damage during viral infection. Indeed, large proportions of affected gene products in a virus-infected plant are closely associated with the chloroplast and the process of photosynthesis. Although the chloroplast is deficient in gene silencing machinery, it elicits the effector-triggered immune response against viral pathogens. Virus infection induces the organelle to produce an extensive network of stromules which are involved in both viral propagation and antiviral defence. From studies over the last few decades, the involvement of the chloroplast in the regulation of plant-virus interaction has become increasingly evident. This review presents an exhaustive account of these facts, with their implications for pathogenicity. We have attempted to highlight the intricacies of chloroplast-virus interactions and to explain the existing gaps in our current knowledge, which will enable virologists to utilize chloroplast genome-based antiviral resistance in economically important crops.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Virology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067, India.
authors.forename: Dhriti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhattacharyya
authors.affiliation: Molecular Virology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067, India.
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
mesh_terms: D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000472:pathogenicity*
keywords: chloroplast; defence; infection; interaction; replication; translation; virus