RESUMO
White areas of star-type bicolour petals of petunia (Petunia hybrida) are caused by post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) of the key enzyme of anthocyanin biosynthesis. We observed blotched flowers and a vein-clearing symptom in aged petunia plants. To determine the cause of blotched flowers, we focused on an endogenous pararetrovirus, petunia vein clearing virus (PVCV), because this virus may have a suppressor of PTGS (VSR). Transcripts and episomal DNAs derived from proviral PVCVs accumulated in aged plants, indicating that PVCV was activated as the host plant aged. Furthermore, DNA methylation of CG and CHG sites in the promoter region of proviral PVCV decreased in aged plants, suggesting that poor maintenance of DNA methylation activates PVCV. In parallel, de novo DNA methylation of CHH sites in its promoter region was also detected. Therefore, both activation and inactivation of PVCV occurred in aged plants. The accumulation of PVCV transcripts and episomal DNAs in blotched regions and the detection of VSR activity support a mechanism in which suppression of PTGS by PVCV causes blotched flowers.
Assuntos
Caulimoviridae/metabolismo , Flores/virologia , Petunia/virologia , Caulimoviridae/genética , Cor , Metilação de DNA , DNA Viral/genética , Flores/anatomia & histologia , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas , Petunia/anatomia & histologia , Provírus/genética , Interferência de RNA , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo RealRESUMO
Plants infected with DNA viruses produce massive quantities of virus-derived, 24-nucleotide short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which can potentially direct viral DNA methylation and transcriptional silencing. However, growing evidence indicates that the circular double-stranded DNA accumulating in the nucleus for Pol II-mediated transcription of viral genes is not methylated. Hence, DNA viruses most likely evade or suppress RNA-directed DNA methylation. This review describes the specialized mechanisms of replication and silencing evasion evolved by geminiviruses and pararetoviruses, which rescue viral DNA from repressive methylation and interfere with transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing of viral genes.