A distinct class of plant and animal viral proteins that disrupt mitosis by directly interrupting the mitotic entry switch Wee1-Cdc25-Cdk1

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 6; no. 20; p. eaba3418
• Main Authors: Jin, Huaibing, Du, Zhiqiang, Zhang, Yanjing, Antal, Judit, Xia, Zongliang, Wang, Yan, Gao, Yang, Zhao, Xiaoge, Han, Xinyun, Cheng, Yanjun, Shen, Qianhua, Zhang, Kunpu, Elder, Robert E, Benko, Zsigmond, Fenyvuesvolgyi, Csaba, Li, Ge, Rebello, Dionne, Li, Jing, Bao, Shilai, Zhao, Richard Y, Wang, Daowen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Cycle Proteins - genetics; Cell Cycle Proteins - metabolism; Mitosis; Nuclear Proteins - metabolism; Phosphoprotein Phosphatases - metabolism; Plant Sciences; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism; Schizosaccharomyces - metabolism; Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins - metabolism; SciAdv r-articles; Viral Proteins - metabolism; Virology
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3418

Many animal viral proteins, e.g., Vpr of HIV-1, disrupt host mitosis by directly interrupting the mitotic entry switch Wee1-Cdc25-Cdk1. However, it is unknown whether plant viruses may use this mechanism in their pathogenesis. Here, we report that the 17K protein, encoded by barley yellow dwarf viruses and related poleroviruses, delays G /M transition and disrupts mitosis in both host (barley) and nonhost (fission yeast, , and tobacco) cells through interrupting the function of Wee1-Cdc25-CDKA/Cdc2 via direct protein-protein interactions and alteration of CDKA/Cdc2 phosphorylation. When ectopically expressed, 17K disrupts the mitosis of cultured human cells, and HIV-1 Vpr inhibits plant cell growth. Furthermore, 17K and Vpr share similar secondary structural feature and common amino acid residues required for interacting with plant CDKA. Thus, our work reveals a distinct class of mitosis regulators that are conserved between plant and animal viruses and play active roles in viral pathogenesis.