Transcriptomic Analyses of Grapevine Leafroll-Associated Virus 3 Infection in Leaves and Berries of 'Cabernet Franc'

Grapevine Virome of the Don Ampelographic Collection in Russia Has Concealed Five Novel Viruses

In this study, an analysis of the virome of 51 grapevines from the Don ampelographic collection named after Ya. I. Potapenko (Russia) was performed using high-throughput sequencing of total RNA. A total of 20 previously described grapevine viruses and 4 viroids were identified. The most detected were grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (98%), hop stunt viroid (98%), grapevine Pinot gris virus (96%), grapevine yellow speckle viroid 1 (94%), and grapevine fleck virus (GFkV, 80%). Among the economically significant viruses, the most present were grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (37%), grapevine virus A (24%), and grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1 (16%). For the first time in Russia, a grapevine-associated tymo-like virus (78%) was detected. After a bioinformatics analysis, 123 complete or nearly complete viral genomes and 64 complete viroid genomes were assembled. An analysis of the phylogenetic relationships with reported global isolates was performed. We discovered and characterized the genomes of five novel grapevine viruses: bipartite dsRNA grapevine alphapartitivirus (genus Alphapartitivirus, family Partitiviridae), bipartite (+) ssRNA grapevine secovirus (genus Fabavirus, family Secoviridae) and three (+) ssRNA grapevine umbra-like viruses 2, -3, -4 (which phylogenetically occupy an intermediate position between representatives of the genus Umbravirus and umbravirus-like associated RNAs).

Investigating Protein-Protein Interactions Between Grapevine Leafroll-Associated Virus 3 and Vitis vinifera

Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) is a globally important disease that affects the metabolic composition and biomass of grapes, leading to a reduction in grape yield and quality of wine produced. Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) is the main causal agent for GLD. This study aimed to identify protein-protein interactions between GLRaV-3 and its host. A yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) library was constructed from Vitis vinifera mRNA and screened against GLRaV-3 open reading frames encoding structural proteins and those potentially involved in systemic spread and silencing of host defense mechanisms. Five interacting protein pairs were identified, three of which were demonstrated in planta. The minor coat protein of GLRaV-3 was shown to interact with 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase 02, a protein involved in primary carbohydrate metabolism and the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. Interactions were also identified between GLRaV-3 p20A and an 18.1-kDa class I small heat shock protein, as well as MAP3K epsilon protein kinase 1. Both proteins are involved in the response of plants to various stressors, including pathogen infections. Two additional proteins, chlorophyll a-b binding protein CP26 and a SMAX1-LIKE 6 protein, were identified as interacting with p20A in yeast but these interactions could not be demonstrated in planta. The findings of this study advance our understanding of the functions of GLRaV-3-encoded proteins and how the interaction between these proteins and those of V. vinifera could lead to GLD.

Identification of Interactions between Proteins Encoded by Grapevine Leafroll-Associated Virus 3

The roles of proteins encoded by members of the genus Ampelovirus, family Closteroviridae are largely inferred by sequence homology or analogy to similarly located ORFs in related viruses. This study employed yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays to investigate interactions between proteins of grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3). The p5 movement protein, HSP70 homolog, coat protein, and p20B of GLRaV-3 were all found to self-interact, however, the mechanism by which p5 interacts remains unknown due to the absence of a cysteine residue crucial for the dimerisation of the closterovirus homolog of this protein. Although HSP70h forms part of the virion head of closteroviruses, in GLRaV-3, it interacts with the coat protein that makes up the body of the virion. Silencing suppressor p20B has been shown to interact with HSP70h, as well as the major coat protein and the minor coat protein. The results of this study suggest that the virion assembly of a member of the genus Ampelovirus occurs in a similar but not identical manner to those of other genera in the family Closteroviridae. Identification of interactions of p20B with virus structural proteins provides an avenue for future research to explore the mechanisms behind the suppression of host silencing and suggests possible involvement in other aspects of the viral replication cycle.