Plant YTHDF proteins are direct effectors of antiviral immunity against an N6-methyladenosine-containing RNA virus.

ABSTRACT: In virus-host interactions, nucleic acid-directed first lines of defense that allow viral clearance without compromising growth are of paramount importance. Plants use the RNA interference pathway as a basal antiviral immune system, but additional RNA-based mechanisms of defense also exist. The infectivity of a plant positive-strand RNA virus, alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), relies on the demethylation of viral RNA by the recruitment of the cellular N6-methyladenosine (m⁶ A) demethylase ALKBH9B, but how demethylation of viral RNA promotes AMV infection remains unknown. Here, we show that inactivation of the Arabidopsis cytoplasmic YT521-B homology domain (YTH)-containing m⁶ A-binding proteins ECT2, ECT3, and ECT5 is sufficient to restore AMV infectivity in partially resis

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Perez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10505913 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature