Identification of the Matrix Protein as a Conserved and Central Determinant of Superinfection Exclusion in Plant Rhabdoviruses.

ABSTRACT: Superinfection exclusion (SIE) is a finely tuned virus-virus interaction mechanism closely linked to the viral infection cycle. However, the mechanistic basis of SIE remains incompletely understood in plant viruses, particularly among negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. In this study, we first describe the development of an efficient reverse genetics system for the plant nucleorhabdovirus Physostegia chlorotic mottle virus (PhCMoV) by codon optimisation of the large polymerase coding sequence. Using fluorescently tagged variants of PhCMoV, as well as three additional closely or distantly related plant rhabdoviruses, we found that each rhabdovirus displayed homotypic SIE. Moreover, two closely related alphanucleorhabdoviruses, PhCMoV and eggplant mottled dwarf virus, also exhibited

SUBMITTER: Jiang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12415270 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature