title: A viral protease relocalizes in the presence of the vector to promote vector performance.
abstract: Vector-borne pathogens influence host characteristics relevant to host-vector contact, increasing pathogen transmission and survival. Previously, we demonstrated that infection with Turnip mosaic virus, a member of one of the largest families of plant-infecting viruses, increases vector attraction and reproduction on infected hosts. These changes were due to a single viral protein, NIa-Pro. Here we show that NIa-Pro responds to the presence of the aphid vector during infection by relocalizing to the vacuole. Remarkably, vacuolar localization is required for NIa-Pro's ability to enhance aphid reproduction on host plants, vacuole localization disappears when aphids are removed, and this phenomenon occurs for another potyvirus, Potato virus Y, suggesting a conserved role for the protein in vector-host interactions. Taken together, these results suggest that potyviruses dynamically respond to the presence of their vectors, promoting insect performance and transmission only when needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bak
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Chunling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3542-3188
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Whitham
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Clare L
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3678-0187
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Casteel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005298:Fertility; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000821:virology; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000472:pathogenicity; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017800:Potyvirus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000821:virology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D010450:Endopeptidases; C059992:nuclear inclusion protein a, mosaic viruses