Abstract
Negative-stranded/ambisense RNA viruses (NSVs) include not only dangerous pathogens of medical importance but also serious plant pathogens of agronomic importance. Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most important plant NSVs, infecting more than 1,000 plant species, and poses major threats to global food security. The segmented negative-stranded/ambisense RNA genomes of TSWV, however, have been a major obstacle to molecular genetic manipulation. In this study, we report the complete recovery of infectious TSWV entirely from complementary DNA (cDNA) clones. First, a replication- and transcription-competent minigenome replication system was established based on 35S-driven constructs of the S(−)-genomic (g) or S(+)-antigenomic (ag) RNA template, flanked by the 5′ hammerhead and 3′ ribozyme sequence of hepatitis delta virus, a nucleocapsid (N) protein gene and codon-optimized viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene. Next, a movement-competent minigenome replication system was developed based on M(−)-gRNA, which was able to complement cell-to-cell and systemic movement of reconstituted ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) of S RNA replicon. Finally, infectious TSWV and derivatives carrying eGFP reporters were rescued in planta via simultaneous expression of full-length cDNA constructs coding for S(+)-agRNA, M(−)-gRNA, and L(+)-agRNA in which the glycoprotein gene sequence of M(−)-gRNA was optimized. Viral rescue occurred with the addition of various RNAi suppressors including P19, HcPro, and γb, but TSWV NSs interfered with the rescue of genomic RNA. This reverse genetics system for TSWV now allows detailed molecular genetic analysis of all aspects of viral infection cycle and pathogenicity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1181-1190 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 117 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 26 Dec 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 14 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- Genome-length infectious cDNA clones
- Minireplicon
- Negative-strand RNA virus
- Reverse genetics system
- Tomato spotted wilt virus