title: Tubules of plant reoviruses exploit tropomodulin to regulate actin-based tubule motility in insect vector.
abstract: Plant reoviruses are known to exploit virion-packaging tubules formed by virus-encoding non-structural proteins for viral spread in insect vectors. Tubules are propelled by actin-based tubule motility (ABTM) to overcome membrane or tissue barriers in insect vectors. To further understand which insect factors mediate ABTM, we utilized yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays to test interactions between tubule protein Pns10 of rice dwarf virus (RDV), a plant reovirus, and proteins of its insect vector, the leafhopper Nephotettix cincticeps. Tropomodulin (Tmod), vitellogenin, and lipophorin precursor of N. cincticep displayed positive and strong interaction with Pns10, and actin-associated protein Tmod interacted with Pns10 in pull-down assay and the co-immunoprecipitation system. Further, we determined Pns10 tubules associated with Tmod in cultured cells and midgut of N. cincticep. The expression dynamic of Tmod was consistent with that of Pns10 and the fluctuation of RDV accumulation. Knockdown of Tmod inhibited the Pns10 expression and viral accumulation, thus decreasing the viruliferous rates of leafhopper. These results suggested that Tmod was involved in viral spread by directly interacting with Pns10 tubules, finally promoting RDV infection. This study provided direct evidence of plant reoviruses utilizing an actin-associated protein to manipulate ABTM in insect vectors, thus facilitating viral spread.
authors.affiliation: Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Linghua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanshuang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qianzhuo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Taiyun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D006430:Hemiptera; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D008124:Locomotion; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000254:growth & development*; D051348:Tropomodulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D051348:Tropomodulin; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins