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Ma Y, Han TT, Zhang P, Tang JX, Smith WK, Zhong K, Yu J, Cheng YY, Zhao W, Lu QY. Occurrence and Pathogenicity of Hop Stunt Viroid Infecting Mulberry ( Morus alba) Plants in China. PLANT DISEASE 2023; 107:2971-2977. [PMID: 36916842 DOI: 10.1094/pdis-08-22-1865-re] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
To investigate the presence of hop stunt viroid (HSVd) in mulberry (Morus alba) plants in China, HSVd was detected by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR using dsRNAs extracted from symptomatic or asymptomatic mulberry leaf samples collected from a mulberry field located in Zhenjiang, China, as a template and the primer pairs for HSVd detection. The primer pairs were designed based on the conserved sequence of 25 HSVd variants deposited in the GenBank database. Four out of a total of 53 samples were HSVd-positive, confirming that HSVd is present in mulberry plants in China. The consensus full-length nucleotide (nt) sequence of two HSVd variants determined by sequencing the HSVd variants in these four HSVd-positive samples consisted of 296 nt and shared the highest nt identity of 96.8% with that from plum in Turkey but relatively low identity with those from mulberry in Iran (87.3 to 90.8%). Phylogenetic analysis showed that these HSVd variants clustered together with those of the HSVd-hop group. Analysis of the infectivity and pathogenicity to hosts by the constructed Agrobacterium-mediated dimeric head-to-tail HSVd cDNA infectious clones demonstrated that one of the HSVd variants identified in this study infects the natural host, mulberry plants, and also infects experimental plants, cucumber, and tomato. It probably induces stunting symptoms in HSVd-infected tomatoes but does not induce symptoms on mulberry leaves or in cucumbers. Although HSVd infecting mulberry has been found in Iran, Italy, and Lebanon, this is the first study to report this viroid in naturally infected mulberry plants in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Ma
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Tao-Tao Han
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jia-Xuan Tang
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - William Kojo Smith
- Center for Circadian Clocks and School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, China
| | - Kui Zhong
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetic Improvement of Silkworm and Mulberry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jing Yu
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yong-Yuan Cheng
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Weiguo Zhao
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetic Improvement of Silkworm and Mulberry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Quan-You Lu
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetic Improvement of Silkworm and Mulberry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212018, Jiangsu, China
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Márquez-Molins J, Villalba-Bermell P, Corell-Sierra J, Pallás V, Gomez G. Integrative time-scale and multi-omics analysis of host responses to viroid infection. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2023. [PMID: 37378473 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Viroids are circular RNAs of minimal complexity compelled to subvert plant-regulatory networks to accomplish their infectious process. Studies focused on the response to viroid-infection have mostly addressed specific regulatory levels and considered specifics infection-times. Thus, much remains to be done to understand the temporal evolution and complex nature of viroid-host interactions. Here we present an integrative analysis of the temporal evolution of the genome-wide alterations in cucumber plants infected with hop stunt viroid (HSVd) by integrating differential host transcriptome, sRNAnome and methylome. Our results support that HSVd promotes the redesign of the cucumber regulatory-pathways predominantly affecting specific regulatory layers at different infection-phases. The initial response was characterised by a reconfiguration of the host-transcriptome by differential exon-usage, followed by a progressive transcriptional downregulation modulated by epigenetic changes. Regarding endogenous small RNAs, the alterations were limited and mainly occurred at the late stage. Significant host-alterations were predominantly related to the downregulation of transcripts involved in plant-defence mechanisms, the restriction of pathogen-movement and the systemic spreading of defence signals. We expect that these data constituting the first comprehensive temporal-map of the plant-regulatory alterations associated with HSVd infection could contribute to elucidate the molecular basis of the yet poorly known host-response to viroid-induced pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Márquez-Molins
- Department of Molecular Interactions and Regulation, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat de València (UV), Parc Científic, Paterna, Spain
- Department of Virologia Molecular y Evolutiva de Plantas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pascual Villalba-Bermell
- Department of Molecular Interactions and Regulation, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat de València (UV), Parc Científic, Paterna, Spain
| | - Julia Corell-Sierra
- Department of Molecular Interactions and Regulation, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat de València (UV), Parc Científic, Paterna, Spain
| | - Vicente Pallás
- Department of Virologia Molecular y Evolutiva de Plantas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Gustavo Gomez
- Department of Molecular Interactions and Regulation, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat de València (UV), Parc Científic, Paterna, Spain
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3
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Marquez‐Molins J, Hernandez‐Azurdia AG, Urrutia‐Perez M, Pallas V, Gomez G. A circular RNA vector for targeted plant gene silencing based on an asymptomatic viroid. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 112:284-293. [PMID: 35916236 PMCID: PMC9804161 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Gene silencing for functional studies in plants has been largely facilitated by manipulating viral genomes with inserts from host genes to trigger virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) against the corresponding mRNAs. However, viral genomes encode multiple proteins and can disrupt plant homeostasis by interfering with endogenous cell mechanisms. To try to circumvent this functional limitation, we have developed a silencing method based on the minimal autonomously-infectious nucleic acids currently known: viroids, which lack proven coding capability. The genome of Eggplant latent viroid, an asymptomatic viroid, was manipulated with insertions ranging between 21 and 42 nucleotides. Our results show that, although larger insertions might be tolerated, the maintenance of the secondary structure appears to be critical for viroid genome stability. Remarkably, these modified ELVd molecules are able to induce systemic infection promoting the silencing of target genes in eggplant. Inspired by the design of artificial microRNAs, we have developed a simple and standardized procedure to generate stable insertions into the ELVd genome capable of silencing a specific target gene. Analogously to VIGS, we have termed our approach viroid-induced gene silencing, and demonstrate that it is a promising tool for dissecting gene functions in eggplant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Marquez‐Molins
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat de València (UV)Parc Científic, Cat. Agustín Escardino 946980PaternaSpain
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaCPI 8E, Av. de los Naranjos s/n46022ValenciaSpain
| | - Andrea Gabriela Hernandez‐Azurdia
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat de València (UV)Parc Científic, Cat. Agustín Escardino 946980PaternaSpain
| | - María Urrutia‐Perez
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat de València (UV)Parc Científic, Cat. Agustín Escardino 946980PaternaSpain
| | - Vicente Pallas
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaCPI 8E, Av. de los Naranjos s/n46022ValenciaSpain
| | - Gustavo Gomez
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ‐ Universitat de València (UV)Parc Científic, Cat. Agustín Escardino 946980PaternaSpain
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Flores R, Navarro B, Serra P, Di Serio F. A Scenario for the Emergence of Protoviroids in the RNA World and for Their Further Evolution into Viroids and Viroid-Like RNAs by Modular Recombinations and Mutations. Virus Evol 2022; 8:veab107. [PMID: 35223083 PMCID: PMC8865084 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veab107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Viroids are tiny, circular and non-coding RNAs that are able to replicate and systemically infect plants. The smallest known pathogens, they have been proposed to represent survivors from the RNA world that likely preceded the cellular world currently dominating life on the earth. Although the small, circular and compact nature of viroid genomes, some of which are also endowed with catalytic activity mediated by hammerhead ribozymes, support this proposal, the lack of feasible evolutionary routes and the identification of hammerhead ribozymes in a large number of DNA genomes of organisms along the tree of life has led some to question such a proposal. Here, we reassess the origin and subsequent evolution of viroids by complementing phylogenetic reconstructions with molecular data, including the primary and higher-order structure of the genomic RNAs, their replication and recombination mechanisms and selected biological information. Features of some viroid-like RNAs found in plants, animal, and possibly fungi are also considered. The resulting evolutionary scenario supports the emergence of protoviroids in the RNA world, mainly as replicative modules, followed by further increase in genome complexity based on module/domain shuffling and combination, and mutation. Such a modular evolutionary scenario would have facilitated the inclusion in the protoviroid genomes of complex RNA structures (or coding sequences, as in the case of hepatitis ∂ virus and delta-like agents), likely needed for their adaptation from the RNA world to a life based on cells, thus generating the ancestors of current infectious viroids and viroid-like RNAs. Other non-infectious viroid-like RNAs, such as retroviroid-like RNA elements and retrozymes, could also be derived from protoviroids if their reverse transcription and integration into viral or eukaryotic DNA, respectively, are considered as a possible key step in their evolution. Comparison of evidence supporting a general and modular evolutionary model for viroids and viroid-like RNAs with that favoring alternative scenarios provides reasonable reasons to keep alive the hypothesis that these small RNA pathogens may be relics of a precellular world.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Beatriz Navarro
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Amendola 122/D, Bari 70126, Italy
| | - Pedro Serra
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n, Valencia 46022, Spain
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Manrubia S, Cuesta JA, Aguirre J, Ahnert SE, Altenberg L, Cano AV, Catalán P, Diaz-Uriarte R, Elena SF, García-Martín JA, Hogeweg P, Khatri BS, Krug J, Louis AA, Martin NS, Payne JL, Tarnowski MJ, Weiß M. From genotypes to organisms: State-of-the-art and perspectives of a cornerstone in evolutionary dynamics. Phys Life Rev 2021; 38:55-106. [PMID: 34088608 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2021.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how genotypes map onto phenotypes, fitness, and eventually organisms is arguably the next major missing piece in a fully predictive theory of evolution. We refer to this generally as the problem of the genotype-phenotype map. Though we are still far from achieving a complete picture of these relationships, our current understanding of simpler questions, such as the structure induced in the space of genotypes by sequences mapped to molecular structures, has revealed important facts that deeply affect the dynamical description of evolutionary processes. Empirical evidence supporting the fundamental relevance of features such as phenotypic bias is mounting as well, while the synthesis of conceptual and experimental progress leads to questioning current assumptions on the nature of evolutionary dynamics-cancer progression models or synthetic biology approaches being notable examples. This work delves with a critical and constructive attitude into our current knowledge of how genotypes map onto molecular phenotypes and organismal functions, and discusses theoretical and empirical avenues to broaden and improve this comprehension. As a final goal, this community should aim at deriving an updated picture of evolutionary processes soundly relying on the structural properties of genotype spaces, as revealed by modern techniques of molecular and functional analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Manrubia
- Department of Systems Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CSIC), Madrid, Spain; Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain.
| | - José A Cuesta
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Spain; Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BiFi), Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain; UC3M-Santander Big Data Institute (IBiDat), Getafe, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jacobo Aguirre
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA, ctra. de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sebastian E Ahnert
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Philippa Fawcett Drive, Cambridge CB3 0AS, UK; The Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK
| | | | - Alejandro V Cano
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pablo Catalán
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Spain
| | - Ramon Diaz-Uriarte
- Department of Biochemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas "Alberto Sols" (UAM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago F Elena
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas, I(2)SysBio (CSIC-UV), València, Spain; The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | | | - Paulien Hogeweg
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics Group, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - Bhavin S Khatri
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Joachim Krug
- Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Köln, Germany
| | - Ard A Louis
- Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Nora S Martin
- Theory of Condensed Matter Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Joshua L Payne
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Marcel Weiß
- Theory of Condensed Matter Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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6
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Marquez‐Molins J, Gomez G, Pallas V. Hop stunt viroid: A polyphagous pathogenic RNA that has shed light on viroid-host interactions. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2021; 22:153-162. [PMID: 33305492 PMCID: PMC7814962 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
TAXONOMY Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is the type species of the genus Hostuviroid (family Pospiviroidae). The other species of this genus is Dahlia latent viroid, which presents an identical central conserved region (CCR) but lacks other structural hallmarks present in Hop stunt viroid. HSVd replication occurs in the nucleus through an asymmetric rolling-circle model as in the other members of the family Pospiviroidae, which also includes the genera Pospiviroid, Cocadviroid, Apscaviroid, and Coleoviroid. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Hop stunt viroid consists of a single-stranded, circular RNA of 295-303 nucleotides depending on isolates and sequence variants. The most stable secondary structure is a rod-like or quasi-rod-like conformation with two characteristic domains: a CCR and a terminal conserved hairpin similar to that of cocadviroids. HSVd lacks a terminal conserved region. HOSTS AND SYMPTOMS HSVd infects a very broad range of natural hosts and has been reported to be the causal agent of five different diseases (citrus cachexia, cucumber pale fruit, peach and plum apple apricot distortion, and hop stunt). It is distributed worldwide. TRANSMISSION HSVd is transmitted mechanically and by seed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Marquez‐Molins
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universitat de ValènciaPaternaSpain
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de PlantasConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaValenciaSpain
| | - Gustavo Gomez
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universitat de ValènciaPaternaSpain
| | - Vicente Pallas
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de PlantasConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaValenciaSpain
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7
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Chiumenti M, Navarro B, Venerito P, Civita F, Minafra A, Di Serio F. Molecular variability of apple hammerhead viroid from Italian apple varieties supports the relevance in vivo of its branched conformation stabilized by a kissing loop interaction. Virus Res 2019; 270:197644. [PMID: 31255643 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2019.197644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In the absence of protein-coding ability, viroid RNAs rely on direct interactions with host factors for their infectivity. RNA structural elements are likely involved in these interactions. Therefore, preservation of a structural element, despite the sequence variability existing between the variants of a viroid population, is considered a solid evidence of its relevant role in vivo. In this study, apple hammerhead viroid (AHVd) was first identified in the two apple cultivars 'Mela Rosa Guadagno' (MRG) and 'Agostinella' (AG), which are cultivated since long in Southern Italy, thus providing the first solid evidence of its presence in this country. Then, the natural variability of AHVd viroid populations infecting MRG and AG was studied. The sequence variants from the two Italian isolates shared only 82.1-87.7% sequence identity with those reported previously from other geographic areas, thus providing the possibility of exploring the impact of this sequence divergence on the proposed secondary structure. Interestingly, all the AHVd sequence variants considered in this study preserved a branched secondary structure stabilized by a kissing-loop interaction, resembling the conformation proposed previously for variants from other isolates. Indeed, most mutations did not modify the proposed conformation because they were co-variations, conversions of canonical into wobble base-pairs, or vice versa, as well as changes mapping at loops. Importantly, a cruciform structural element formed by four hairpins, one of which is implicated in the proposed kissing-loop interaction, was also preserved because several nucleotide changes actually resulted into two, three and up to five consecutive co-variations associated with other changes that did not affect the secondary structure. These data provide very strong evidence for the relevance in vivo of this cruciform structure which, together with kissing-loop interaction, likely contribute to further stabilizing the branched AHVd secondary structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Chiumenti
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - Beatriz Navarro
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - Pasquale Venerito
- Centro di Ricerca, Sperimentazione e Formazione in Agricoltura "Basile Caramia", Locorotondo, Italy
| | - Francesco Civita
- SINAGRI - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
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8
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Catalán P, Elena SF, Cuesta JA, Manrubia S. Parsimonious Scenario for the Emergence of Viroid-Like Replicons De Novo. Viruses 2019; 11:v11050425. [PMID: 31075860 PMCID: PMC6563258 DOI: 10.3390/v11050425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Viroids are small, non-coding, circular RNA molecules that infect plants. Different hypotheses for their evolutionary origin have been put forward, such as an early emergence in a precellular RNA World or several de novo independent evolutionary origins in plants. Here, we discuss the plausibility of de novo emergence of viroid-like replicons by giving theoretical support to the likelihood of different steps along a parsimonious evolutionary pathway. While Avsunviroidae-like structures are relatively easy to obtain through evolution of a population of random RNA sequences of fixed length, rod-like structures typical of Pospiviroidae are difficult to fix. Using different quantitative approaches, we evaluated the likelihood that RNA sequences fold into a rod-like structure and bear specific sequence motifs facilitating interactions with other molecules, e.g., RNA polymerases, RNases, and ligases. By means of numerical simulations, we show that circular RNA replicons analogous to Pospiviroidae emerge if evolution is seeded with minimal circular RNAs that grow through the gradual addition of nucleotides. Further, these rod-like replicons often maintain their structure if independent functional modules are acquired that impose selective constraints. The evolutionary scenario we propose here is consistent with the structural and biochemical properties of viroids described to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Catalán
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Santiago F Elena
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC-Universitat de València, Paterna, 46980 València, Spain.
- The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
| | - José A Cuesta
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain.
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28911 Leganés, Spain.
- Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BiFi), Universidad de Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
- Institute of Financial Big Data (IFiBiD), Universidad Carlos III de Madrid⁻Banco de Santander, 28903 Getafe, Spain.
| | - Susanna Manrubia
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain.
- National Biotechnology Centre (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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9
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Maurel MC, Leclerc F, Vergne J, Zaccai G. RNA Back and Forth: Looking through Ribozyme and Viroid Motifs. Viruses 2019; 11:E283. [PMID: 30901893 PMCID: PMC6466107 DOI: 10.3390/v11030283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Current cellular facts allow us to follow the link from chemical to biochemical metabolites, from the ancient to the modern world. In this context, the "RNA world" hypothesis proposes that early in the evolution of life, the ribozyme was responsible for the storage and transfer of genetic information and for the catalysis of biochemical reactions. Accordingly, the hammerhead ribozyme (HHR) and the hairpin ribozyme belong to a family of endonucleolytic RNAs performing self-cleavage that might occur during replication. Furthermore, regarding the widespread occurrence of HHRs in several genomes of modern organisms (from mammals to small parasites and elsewhere), these small ribozymes have been regarded as living fossils of a primitive RNA world. They fold into 3D structures that generally require long-range intramolecular interactions to adopt the catalytically active conformation under specific physicochemical conditions. By studying viroids as plausible remains of ancient RNA, we recently demonstrated that they replicate in non-specific hosts, emphasizing their adaptability to different environments, which enhanced their survival probability over the ages. All these results exemplify ubiquitous features of life. Those are the structural and functional versatility of small RNAs, ribozymes, and viroids, as well as their diversity and adaptability to various extreme conditions. All these traits must have originated in early life to generate novel RNA populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Christine Maurel
- Sorbonne Université, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS MNHN UMR 7205, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Fabrice Leclerc
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, CEA, Université Paris Sud, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Jacques Vergne
- Sorbonne Université, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS MNHN UMR 7205, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Giuseppe Zaccai
- Institut de Biologie Structurale CNRS-CEA-UGA, F-380447 Grenoble, France, and Institut Laue Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France.
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10
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Suzuki T, Fujibayashi M, Hataya T, Taneda A, He YH, Tsushima T, Duraisamy GS, Siglová K, Matoušek J, Sano T. Characterization of host-dependent mutations of apple fruit crinkle viroid replicating in newly identified experimental hosts suggests maintenance of stem-loop structures in the left-hand half of the molecule is important for replication. J Gen Virol 2017; 98:506-516. [PMID: 28005527 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Apple fruit crinkle viroid (AFCVd) is a tentative member of the genus Apscaviroid, family Pospiviroidae. AFCVd has a narrow host range and is known to infect apple, hop and persimmon as natural hosts. In this study, tomato, cucumber and wild hop have been identified as new experimental herbaceous hosts. Foliar symptoms were very mild or virtually undetectable, but fruits of infected tomato were small, cracked and distorted. These symptoms resemble those observed on some AFCVd-sensitive apple cultivars. After transfer to tomato, cucumber and wild hop, sequence changes were detected in a natural AFCVd isolate from hop, and major variants in tomato, cucumber and wild hop differed in 10, 8 or 2 nucleotides, respectively, from the predominant one in the inoculum. The major variants in tomato and cucumber were almost identical, and the one in wild hop was very similar to the one in cultivated hop. Detailed analyses of the host-dependent sequence changes that appear in a naturally occurring AFCVd isolate from hop after transfer to tomato using small RNA deep sequence data and infectivity studies with dimeric RNA transcripts followed by progeny analysis indicate that the major AFCVd variant in tomato emerged by selection of a minor variant present in the inoculum (i.e. hop) followed by one to two host-dependent de novo mutations. Comparison of the secondary structures of major variants in hop, tomato and persimmon after transfer to tomato suggested that maintenance of stem-loop structures in the left-hand half of the molecule is critical for infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Suzuki
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Misato Fujibayashi
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Tatsuji Hataya
- Laboratory of Pathogen-Plant Interactions, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan
| | - Akito Taneda
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Ying-Hong He
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Taro Tsushima
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Ganesh Selvaraj Duraisamy
- Biology Centre ASCR v.v.i, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Kristyna Siglová
- Biology Centre ASCR v.v.i, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 370 05, Czech Republic.,University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Matoušek
- Biology Centre ASCR v.v.i, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Teruo Sano
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
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Brass JRJ, Owens RA, Matoušek J, Steger G. Viroid quasispecies revealed by deep sequencing. RNA Biol 2017; 14:317-325. [PMID: 28027000 PMCID: PMC5367258 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2016.1272745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Revised: 12/04/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Viroids are non-coding single-stranded circular RNA molecules that replicate autonomously in infected host plants causing mild to lethal symptoms. Their genomes contain about 250-400 nucleotides, depending on viroid species. Members of the family Pospiviroidae, like the Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), replicate via an asymmetric rolling-circle mechanism using the host DNA-dependent RNA-Polymerase II in the nucleus, while members of Avsunviroidae are replicated in a symmetric rolling-circle mechanism probably by the nuclear-encoded polymerase in chloroplasts. Viroids induce the production of viroid-specific small RNAs (vsRNA) that can direct (post-)transcriptional gene silencing against host transcripts or genomic sequences. Here, we used deep-sequencing to analyze vsRNAs from plants infected with different PSTVd variants to elucidate the PSTVd quasipecies evolved during infection. We recovered several novel as well as previously known PSTVd variants that were obviously competent in replication and identified common strand-specific mutations. The calculated mean error rate per nucleotide position was less than [Formula: see text], quite comparable to the value of [Formula: see text] reported for a member of Avsunviroidae. The resulting error threshold allows the synthesis of longer-than-unit-length replication intermediates as required by the asymmetric rolling-circle mechanism of members of Pospiviroidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R. J. Brass
- Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Robert A. Owens
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA
| | - Jaroslav Matoušek
- Biology Centre, CAS, v. v. i., Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Branišovská, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Gerhard Steger
- Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Adkar-Purushothama CR, Zhang Z, Li S, Sano T. Analysis and application of viroid-specific small RNAs generated by viroid-inducing RNA silencing. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1236:135-170. [PMID: 25287502 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1743-3_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Viroids are noncoding RNA pathogens inducing severe to mild disease symptoms on agriculturally important crop plants. Viroid replication is entirely dependent on host transcription machinery, and their replication/accumulation in the infected cells can activate RNA silencing-a host defense mechanism that targets the viroid itself. RNA silencing produces in the cell large amounts of viroid-specific small RNAs of 21-24-nucleotides by cleaving (or "dicing") entire molecules of viroid RNA. However, viroid replication is resistant to the effects of RNA silencing and disrupts the normal regulation of host gene expression, finally resulting in the development of disease symptoms on infected plant. The molecular mechanisms of biological processes involving RNA silencing and underlying various aspects of viroid-host interaction, such as symptom expression, are of special interests to both basic and applied areas of viroid research. Here we present a method to create infectious viroid cDNA clones and RNA transcripts, the starting material for such analyses, using Hop stunt viroid as an example. Next we describe methods for the preparation and analysis of viroid-specific small RNAs by deep sequencing using tomato plants infected with Potato spindle tuber viroid as an example. Finally we introduce bioinformatics tools and methods necessary to process, analyze, and characterize these viroid-specific small RNAs. These bioinformatic methods provide a powerful new tool for the detection and discovery of both known and new viroid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charith Raj Adkar-Purushothama
- RNA group, Département de Biochimie, Pavillon de Recherche Appliquée sur le Cancer, Université de Sherbrooke, 3201 rue Jean-Mignault, Sherbrooke, QC, J1E 4K8, Canada
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13
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Quigley BJZ, García López D, Buckling A, McKane AJ, Brown SP. The mode of host-parasite interaction shapes coevolutionary dynamics and the fate of host cooperation. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3742-8. [PMID: 22740644 PMCID: PMC3415897 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Antagonistic coevolution between hosts and parasites can have a major impact on host population structures, and hence on the evolution of social traits. Using stochastic modelling techniques in the context of bacteria–virus interactions, we investigate the impact of coevolution across a continuum of host–parasite genetic specificity (specifically, where genotypes have the same infectivity/resistance ranges (matching alleles, MA) to highly variable ranges (gene-for-gene, GFG)) on population genetic structure, and on the social behaviour of the host. We find that host cooperation is more likely to be maintained towards the MA end of the continuum, as the more frequent bottlenecks associated with an MA-like interaction can prevent defector invasion, and can even allow migrant cooperators to invade populations of defectors.
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Ding B. Viroids: self-replicating, mobile, and fast-evolving noncoding regulatory RNAs. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2012; 1:362-75. [PMID: 21956936 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Viroids are small, circular, and noncoding RNAs that infect plants. They replicate in the nucleus or chloroplast and then traffic from cell to cell and from organ to organ to establish systemic infection. Viroids achieve nearly all of the biological functions by directly interacting with host cellular factors. Viroid replication, together with replication of human hepatitis delta virus, demonstrates the biological novelty and significance of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activities of DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Viroid systemic infection uncovers a new biological principle--the role of three-dimensional RNA structural motifs mediating RNA trafficking between specific cells. Viroid diseases are virtually the consequences of host gene regulation by noncoding RNAs. A viroid RNA has the highest in vivo mutation rate among all known nucleic acid replicons. The host range of many viroids is expanding, essentially as a result of continuing and fast evolution of noncoding sequences/structures to gain new biological functions. Here, I discuss recent progress in these areas, emphasizing the broad significance of viroid research to the discovery of fundamental biological principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Ding
- Department of Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology and Plant Biotechnology Center, The Center for RNA Biology, and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Program, The Ohio State University, 207 Rightmire Hall, 1060 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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15
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Acosta-Leal R, Duffy S, Xiong Z, Hammond RW, Elena SF. Advances in plant virus evolution: translating evolutionary insights into better disease management. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2011; 101:1136-48. [PMID: 21554186 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-01-11-0017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies in plant virus evolution are revealing that genetic structure and behavior of virus and viroid populations can explain important pathogenic properties of these agents, such as host resistance breakdown, disease severity, and host shifting, among others. Genetic variation is essential for the survival of organisms. The exploration of how these subcellular parasites generate and maintain a certain frequency of mutations at the intra- and inter-host levels is revealing novel molecular virus-plant interactions. They emphasize the role of host environment in the dynamic genetic composition of virus populations. Functional genomics has identified host factors that are transcriptionally altered after virus infections. The analyses of these data by means of systems biology approaches are uncovering critical plant genes specifically targeted by viruses during host adaptation. Also, a next-generation resequencing approach of a whole virus genome is opening new avenues to study virus recombination and the relationships between intra-host virus composition and pathogenesis. Altogether, the analyzed data indicate that systematic disruption of some specific parameters of evolving virus populations could lead to more efficient ways of disease prevention, eradication, or tolerable virus-plant coexistence.
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Abstract
This article addresses some of the questions relating to how hepatitis delta virus (HDV), an agent so far unique in the animal world, might have arisen. HDV was discovered in patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). It generally makes HBV infections more damaging to the liver. It is a subviral satellite agent that depends upon HBV envelope proteins for its assembly and ability to infect new cells. In other aspects of replication, HDV is both independent of and very different from HBV. In addition, the small single-stranded circular RNA genome of HDV, and its mechanism of replication, demonstrate an increasing number of similarities to the viroids - a large family of helper-independent subviral agents that cause pathogenesis in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Taylor
- Chase Cancer Center, PA 19111, USA, Tel.: +1 215 728 2436, Fax: +1 215 728 2412,
| | - Martin Pelchat
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada, Tel.: +1 613 562 5800 ext. 8846, Fax: +1 613 562 5452,
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Takeda R, Ding B. Viroid intercellular trafficking: RNA motifs, cellular factors and broad impacts. Viruses 2009; 1:210-21. [PMID: 21994546 PMCID: PMC3185492 DOI: 10.3390/v1020210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2009] [Revised: 08/31/2009] [Accepted: 09/01/2009] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Viroids are noncoding RNAs that infect plants. In order to establish systemic infection, these RNAs must traffic from an initially infected host cell into neighboring cells and ultimately throughout a whole plant. Recent studies have identified structural motifs in a viroid that are required for trafficking, enabling further studies on the mechanisms of their function. Some cellular proteins interact with viroids in vivo and may play a role in viroid trafficking, which can now be directly tested by using a virus-induced gene silencing system that functions efficiently in plant species from which these factors were identified. This review discusses these recent advances, unanswered questions and the use of viroid infection as an highly productive model to elucidate mechanisms of RNA trafficking that is of broad biological significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryuta Takeda
- Department of Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Program, Ohio State University, 207 Rightmire Hall, 1060 Carmack Road, Columbus, 43210 USA; E-Mail:
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