scholarly journals A short prokaryotic argonaute cooperates with membrane effector to confer antiviral defense

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Zeng ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Rafael Pinilla-Redondo ◽  
Shiraz A. Shah ◽  
Fen Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Stable Complex ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Abortive Infection ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
Sulfolobus Islandicus ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Immune Sensing

SummaryArgonaute (Ago) proteins are widespread nucleic acid-guided enzymes that recognize targets through complementary base pairing. While in eukaryotes Agos are involved in RNA silencing, the functions of prokaryotic Agos (pAgos) remain largely unknown. In particular, a clade of truncated and catalytically inactive pAgos (short pAgos) lacks characterization. Here, we reveal that a short pAgo protein in Sulfolobus islandicus, together with its two genetically associated proteins, Aga1 and Aga2, provide robust antiviral protection via abortive infection. Aga2 is a membrane-associated toxic effector that binds anionic phospholipids via a basic pocket, which is essential for its cell killing ability. Ago and Aga1 form a stable complex that exhibits RNA-directed nucleic acid recognition ability and directly interacts with Aga2, pointing to an immune sensing mechanism. Together, our results highlight the cooperation between pAgos and their widespread associated proteins, suggesting an uncharted diversity of pAgo-derived immune systems that await to be discovered.

scholarly journals The Suppressor of Transgene RNA Silencing Encoded by Cucumber mosaic virus Interferes with Salicylic Acid-Mediated Virus Resistance

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 715-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang-Hui Ji ◽  
Shou-Wei Ding
Keyword(s):  
Salicylic Acid ◽  
Cucumber Mosaic Virus ◽  
Mosaic Virus ◽  
Virus Resistance ◽  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Oxidase Gene ◽  
Systemic Spread ◽  
Systemic Infections

The Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-encoded 2b protein (Cmv2b) is a nuclear protein that suppresses transgene RNA silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana. Cmv2b is an important virulence determinant but nonessential for systemic spread in N. glutinosa, in contrast to its indispensable role for systemic infections in cucumber. Here, we report that Cmv2b became essential for systemic infections in older N. glutinosa plants or in young seedlings pre-treated with salicylic acid (SA). Expression of Cmv2b from the genome of either CMV or Tobacco mosaic virus significantly reduced the inhibitory effect of SA on virus accumulation in inoculated leaves and systemic leaves. A close correlation is demonstrated between Cmv2b expression and a reduced SA-dependent induction of the alternative oxidase gene, a component of the recently proposed SA-regulated antiviral defense. These results collectively reveal a novel activity of Cmv2b in the inhibition of SA-mediated virus resistance. We used a N. tabacum line expressing a bacterial nahG transgene that degrades SA to provide evidence for a Cmv2b-sensitive antiviral defense mechanism in tobacco in which SA acts as a positive modifier but not as an essential component. We propose that SA induces virus resistance by potentiating a RNA-silencing antiviral defense that is targeted by Cmv2b.

scholarly journals The DNA damage-recognition problem in human and other eukaryotic cells: the XPA damage binding protein

1997 ◽  
Vol 328 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. James CLEAVER ◽  
J. Christopher STATES
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Binding Capacity ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Damage Recognition ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Group A

The capacity of human and other eukaryotic cells to recognize a disparate variety of damaged sites in DNA, and selectively excise and repair them, resides in a deceptively small simple protein, a 38-42 kDa zinc-finger binding protein, XPA (xeroderma pigmentosum group A), that has no inherent catalytic properties. One key to its damage-recognition ability resides in a DNA-binding domain which combines a zinc finger and a single-strand binding region which may infiltrate small single-stranded regions caused by helix-destabilizing lesions. Another is the augmentation of its binding capacity by interactions with other single-stranded binding proteins and helicases which co-operate in the binding and are unloaded at the binding site to facilitate further unwinding of the DNA and subsequent catalysis. The properties of these reactions suggest there must be considerable conformational changes in XPA and associated proteins to provide a flexible fit to a wide variety of damaged structures in the DNA.

scholarly journals Jasmonate Signaling Enhances RNA Silencing and Antiviral Defense in Rice

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-103.e8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhirui Yang ◽  
Yu Huang ◽  
Jialin Yang ◽  
Shengze Yao ◽  
Kun Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Jasmonate Signaling

scholarly journals Antiviral Defense Involves AGO4 in an Arabidopsis–Potexvirus Interaction

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 878-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Brosseau ◽  
Mohamed El Oirdi ◽  
Ayooluwa Adurogbangba ◽  
Xiaofang Ma ◽  
Peter Moffett
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Nuclear Localization ◽  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Double Stranded Rna ◽  
Micro Rnas ◽  
Plantago Asiatica ◽  
Antiviral Activities

In plants, RNA silencing regulates gene expression through the action of Dicer-like (DCL) and Argonaute (AGO) proteins via micro RNAs and RNA-dependent DNA methylation (RdDM). In addition, RNA silencing functions as an antiviral defense mechanism by targeting virus-derived double-stranded RNA. Plants encode multiple AGO proteins with specialized functions, including AGO4-like proteins that affect RdDM and AGO2, AGO5, and AGO1, which have antiviral activities. Here, we show that AGO4 is also required for defense against the potexvirus Plantago asiatica mosaic virus (PlAMV), most likely independent of RdDM components such as DCL3, Pol IV, and Pol V. Transient assays showed that AGO4 has direct antiviral activity on PlAMV and, unlike RdDM, this activity does not require nuclear localization of AGO4. Furthermore, although PlAMV infection causes a decrease in AGO4 expression, PlAMV causes a change in AGO4 localization from a largely nuclear to a largely cytoplasmic distribution. These results indicate an important role for AGO4 in targeting plant RNA viruses as well as demonstrating novel mechanisms of regulation of and by AGO4, independent of its canonical role in regulating gene expression by RdDM.

What does it take to be antiviral? An Argonaute-centered perspective on plant antiviral defense

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (20) ◽  
pp. 6197-6210
Author(s):  
Guilherme Silva-Martins ◽  
Ayooluwa Bolaji ◽  
Peter Moffett
Keyword(s):  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Mode Of Action ◽  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Protein Family ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Protein Families ◽  
Major Mechanism ◽  
General Mode

Abstract RNA silencing is a major mechanism of constitutive antiviral defense in plants, mediated by a number of proteins, including the Dicer-like (DCL) and Argonaute (AGO) endoribonucleases. Both DCL and AGO protein families comprise multiple members. In particular, the AGO protein family has expanded considerably in different plant lineages, with different family members having specialized functions. Although the general mode of action of AGO proteins is well established, the properties that make different AGO proteins more or less efficient at targeting viruses are less well understood. In this report, we review methodologies used to study AGO antiviral activity and current knowledge about which AGO family members are involved in antiviral defense. In addition, we discuss what is known about the different properties of AGO proteins thought to be associated with this function.

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