The Role of Photoreceptors in Response to Cucumber Mosaic Virus in Arabidopsis thaliana

• Published in: Journal of plant growth regulation Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 257 - 270
• Main Authors: Zhou, Xue, Zhu, Tong, Zhu, Li-Sha, Luo, Shi-Shuai, Deng, Xing-Guang, Lin, Hong-hui, Xi, De-Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; antioxidants; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chloroplasts; Cucumber mosaic virus; Cytomegalovirus; Damage; Defense mechanisms; Enzymes; genes; Immunity; Infections; Inoculation; Life Sciences; Mitochondria; mutants; Photoreception; Photoreceptors; Photosynthesis; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant immunity; Plant Physiology; Plant resistance; Plant Sciences; Plant virus diseases; Plant viruses; Respiration; Respiratory rate; Transcription; transcription (genetics); Viruses; Phototropin; Cryptochrome; CMV defense; Phytochrome
• ISSN: 0721-7595; 1435-8107
• DOI: 10.1007/s00344-016-9635-9

It is well known that light is involved in the plant immunity system. However, the mechanisms by which photoreceptors interfere with plant resistance to viruses remain largely unclear. In this study, we explored the defense response systems in different photoreceptor-defective mutants after cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) inoculation. We monitored the physiological and molecular changes of these mutants under virus attack. The results showed that mutants were more susceptible to CMV infection and suffered more serious oxidative damage compared with Col-0 plants. Furthermore, we found the transcription levels of defense-associated genes and the activities of some antioxidant enzymes in the mutants were much lower than those in Col-0 plants. Interestingly, the photosynthetic efficiency and respiratory rate in photoreceptor-defective mutants seemed to be abnormal compared with Col-0 plants after CMV infection. Furthermore, the integrities of chloroplasts and mitochondria of mutants were severely damaged after virus infection especially in phyB , phot2 , and cry1 plants. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that the photoreceptors, PHYB, PHOT2, and CRY1, play important roles in affecting the defense of Arabidopsis thaliana against CMV infection and, to the best our knowledge, it is the first time that such comparison of the defense mechanisms of different photoreceptors against CMV stress has been made.