The C4 protein encoded by tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus reverses transcriptional gene silencing by interacting with NbDRM2 and impairing its DNA-binding ability.

ABSTRACT: In plants, cytosine DNA methylation is an efficient defense mechanism against geminiviruses, since methylation of the viral genome results in transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). As a counter-defense mechanism, geminiviruses encode viral proteins to suppress viral DNA methylation and TGS. However, the molecular mechanisms by which viral proteins contribute to TGS suppression remain incompletely understood. In this study, we found that the C4 protein encoded by tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus (TLCYnV) suppresses methylation of the viral genome through interacting with and impairing the DNA-binding ability of NbDRM2, a pivotal DNA methyltransferase in the methyl cycle. We show that NbDRM2 catalyzes the addition of methyl groups on specific cytosine sites of the viral genome, hence playing an

SUBMITTER: Mei Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7529289 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature