Abstract
There are many reports that virus infection leads to plant death. Clover yellow vein virus (ClYVV) infects and kills legume crops such as broad bean and pea. We previously screened the host factors involved in ClYVV virulence using broad bean and isolated the functionally unknown gene, Vfk158. Vfk158 is a glycine-rich protein (29.3%) and has nine XYPPX repeats in the N-terminal region. In this study, we used Potato virus X-Nicotiana benthamiana pathosystem. N. benthamiana has two Vfk158 homolog candidates (Nbk158-1 and -2). To examine whether Nbk158 is involved in PVX virulence, we suppressed or ectopically expressed Nbk158 using PVX vector. The suppression of Nbk158 enhanced the symptoms and over-expression of Nbk158-1 attenuated. Tissue print showed that Nbk158-1 over-expression suppressed PVX spread. Furthermore, Agrobacterium-mediated transient assay showed that Nbk158-1 over-expression suppressed PVX accumulation. These results suggest that Nbk158 has a role in resistance against PVX in N. benthamiana.
