Turnip crinkle virus targets host ATG8 proteins to attenuate antiviral autophagy [article]

Aayushi Shukla, Gesa Hoffmann, Daniel Hofius, Anders Hafren
2021 bioRxiv   pre-print
Autophagy has emerged as a central player in plant virus disease and resistance. In this study we have addressed potential roles of autophagy in Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) infection. We find that compromised autophagy results in severe disease upon TCV infection, a phenomenon observed earlier for several other viruses as well. We also identified that autophagy provides resistance against TCV by limiting virus accumulation, but the exact mechanism driving this is currently unclear. However, as a
more » ... viral counter-mechanism, our results reveal that the viral protein P38 can suppress autophagy, likely by sequestering ATG8s. This is a novel strategy for plant viruses, while it has been identified for other pathogen classes. Together, these results broaden our understanding of autophagy in plant virus disease, and strengthens our view of virus-specific adaptation to the autophagy pathway.
doi:10.1101/2021.03.28.437395 fatcat:cqwjajzatbgl5of6r7eqagbmby