Rapid Birth or Death of Centromeres on Fragmented Chromosomes in Maize.

Comparative genomics has revealed common occurrences in karyotype evolution such as chromosomal end-to-end fusions and insertions of one chromosome into another near the centromere, as well as many cases of de novo centromeres that generate positional polymorphisms. However, how rearrangements such as dicentrics and acentrics persist without being destroyed or lost remains unclear. Here, we sought experimental evidence for the frequency and timeframe for inactivation and de novo formation of centromeres in maize (Zea mays). The pollen from plants with supernumerary B chromosomes was gamma-irradiated and then applied to normal maize silks of a line without B chromosomes. In ∼8,000 first-generation seedlings, we found many B-A translocations, centromere expansions, and ring chromosomes. We also found many dicentric chromosomes, but a fraction of these show only a single primary constriction, which suggests inactivation of one centromere. Chromosomal fragments were found without canonical centromere sequences, revealing de novo centromere formation over unique sequences; these were validated by immunolocalization with Thr133-phosphorylated histone H2A, a marker of active centromeres, and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing with the CENH3 antibody. These results illustrate the regular occurrence of centromere birth and death after chromosomal rearrangement during a narrow window of one to potentially only a few cell cycles for the rearranged chromosomes to be recognized in this experimental regime.

The deposition of CENH3 in maize is stringently regulated.

The centromere, as an essential element to mediate chromosome segregation, is epigenetically determined by CENH3-containing nucleosomes as a functional marker; therefore the accurate deposition of CENH3 is crucial for chromosome transmission. We characterized the deposition of CENH3 in maize by over-expression and mutational analysis. Our results revealed that over-expressing CENH3 in callus is lethal while over-expressing GFP-CENH3 and CENH3-YFP in callus and plants is not and can be partly deposited normally. Different mutations of GFP-CENH3 demonstrated that CENH3-Thr4 in the N-terminus was needed for the deposition as a positive phosphorylation site and the last five amino acids in the C-terminus are necessary for deposition. The C-terminal tail of CENH3 is confirmed to be responsible for the interaction of CENH3 and histone H4, which indicates that CENH3 maintains deposition in centromeres via interacting with H4 to form stable nucleosomes. For GFP-CENH3 and CENH3-YFP, the fused tags at the termini probably affect the structure of CENH3 and reduce its interaction with other proteins, which in turn could decrease proper deposition. Taken together, multiple amino acids or motifs were shown to play essential roles in CENH3 deposition, which is suggested to be affected by numerous factors in maize.

Two distinct sites are essential for virulent infection and support of variant satellite RNA replication in spontaneous beet black scorch virus variants.

Spontaneous point mutations of virus genomes are important in RNA virus evolution and often result in modifications of their biological properties. Spontaneous variants of beet black scorch virus (BBSV) and its satellite (sat) RNA were generated from cDNA clones by serial propagation in Chenopodium amaranticolor and Nicotiana benthamiana. Inoculation with recombinant RNAs synthesized in vitro revealed BBSV variants with divergent infectious phenotypes that affected either symptom expression or replication of satRNA variants. Sequence alignments showed a correlation between the phenotypes and distinct BBSV genomic loci in the 3'UTR or in the domain encoding the viral replicase. Comparative analysis between a virulent variant, BBSV-m294, and the wild-type (wt) BBSV by site-directed mutagenesis indicated that a single-nucleotide substitution of a uridine to a guanine at nt 3477 in the 3'UTR was responsible for significant increases in viral pathogenicity. Gain-of-function analyses demonstrated that the ability of the BBSV variants to support replication of variant satRNAs was mainly determined by aa 516 in the P82 replicase. In this case, an arginine substitution for a glutamine residue was essential for high levels of replication, and alterations of other residues surrounding position 516 in the wtBBSV isolate led to only minor phenotypic effects. These results provide evidence that divergence of virus functions affecting pathogenicity and supporting parasitic replication can be determined by a single genetic site, either a nucleotide or an amino acid. The results suggest that complex interactions occur between virus and associated satRNAs during virus evolution.

Selection of reference genes for gene expression studies in virus-infected monocots using quantitative real-time PCR.

Both genome-wide transcriptomic surveys of the mRNA expression profiles and virus-induced gene silencing-based molecular studies of target gene during virus-plant interaction involve the precise estimation of the transcript abundance. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is the most widely adopted technique for mRNA quantification. In order to obtain reliable quantification of transcripts, identification of the best reference genes forms the basis of the preliminary work. Nevertheless, the stability of internal controls in virus-infected monocots needs to be fully explored. In this work, the suitability of ten housekeeping genes (ACT, EF1α, FBOX, GAPDH, GTPB, PP2A, SAND, TUBß, UBC18 and UK) for potential use as reference genes in qPCR were investigated in five different monocot plants (Brachypodium, barley, sorghum, wheat and maize) under infection with different viruses including Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV), Brome mosaic virus (BMV), Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV). By using three different algorithms, the most appropriate reference genes or their combinations were identified for different experimental sets and their effectiveness for the normalisation of expression studies were further validated by quantitative analysis of a well-studied PR-1 gene. These results facilitate the selection of desirable reference genes for more accurate gene expression studies in virus-infected monocots.

Enhanced virus resistance in transgenic maize expressing a dsRNA-specific endoribonuclease gene from E. coli.

Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD), caused by several Fijiviruses in the family Reoviridae, is a global disease that is responsible for substantial yield losses in maize. Although some maize germplasm have low levels of polygenic resistance to MRDD, highly resistant cultivated varieties are not available for agronomic field production in China. In this work, we have generated transgenic maize lines that constitutively express rnc70, a mutant E. coli dsRNA-specific endoribonuclease gene. Transgenic lines were propagated and screened under field conditions for 12 generations. During three years of evaluations, two transgenic lines and their progeny were challenged with Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV), the causal agent of MRDD in China, and these plants exhibited reduced levels of disease severity. In two normal years of MRDD abundance, both lines were more resistant than non-transgenic plants. Even in the most serious MRDD year, six out of seven progeny from one line were resistant, whereas non-transgenic plants were highly susceptible. Molecular approaches in the T12 generation revealed that the rnc70 transgene was integrated and expressed stably in transgenic lines. Under artificial conditions permitting heavy virus inoculation, the T12 progeny of two highly resistant lines had a reduced incidence of MRDD and accumulation of RBSDV in infected plants. In addition, we confirmed that the RNC70 protein could bind directly to RBSDV dsRNA in vitro. Overall, our data show that RNC70-mediated resistance in transgenic maize can provide efficient protection against dsRNA virus infection.

Validation of reference genes for gene expression studies in virus-infected Nicotiana benthamiana using quantitative real-time PCR.

Nicotiana benthamiana is the most widely-used experimental host in plant virology. The recent release of the draft genome sequence for N. benthamiana consolidates its role as a model for plant-pathogen interactions. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is commonly employed for quantitative gene expression analysis. For valid qPCR analysis, accurate normalisation of gene expression against an appropriate internal control is required. Yet there has been little systematic investigation of reference gene stability in N. benthamiana under conditions of viral infections. In this study, the expression profiles of 16 commonly used housekeeping genes (GAPDH, 18S, EF1α, SAMD, L23, UK, PP2A, APR, UBI3, SAND, ACT, TUB, GBP, F-BOX, PPR and TIP41) were determined in N. benthamiana and those with acceptable expression levels were further selected for transcript stability analysis by qPCR of complementary DNA prepared from N. benthamiana leaf tissue infected with one of five RNA plant viruses (Tobacco necrosis virus A, Beet black scorch virus, Beet necrotic yellow vein virus, Barley stripe mosaic virus and Potato virus X). Gene stability was analysed in parallel by three commonly-used dedicated algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper. Statistical analysis revealed that the PP2A, F-BOX and L23 genes were the most stable overall, and that the combination of these three genes was sufficient for accurate normalisation. In addition, the suitability of PP2A, F-BOX and L23 as reference genes was illustrated by expression-level analysis of AGO2 and RdR6 in virus-infected N. benthamiana leaves. This is the first study to systematically examine and evaluate the stability of different reference genes in N. benthamiana. Our results not only provide researchers studying these viruses a shortlist of potential housekeeping genes to use as normalisers for qPCR experiments, but should also guide the selection of appropriate reference genes for gene expression studies of N. benthamiana under other biotic and abiotic stress conditions.

The R-rich motif of Beet black scorch virus P7a movement protein is important for the nuclear localization, nucleolar targeting and viral infectivity.

Beet black scorch virus (BBSV) encodes three movement proteins (P7a, P7b and P5') that facilitate its cell-to-cell movement. An arginine-rich motif of P7a N-terminus was found to determine nuclear and nucleolar localization. Amino acids substitution or deletion of the R-rich motif interfered with P7a nuclear and nucleolar localization. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays revealed that P7a protein interacted with Nicotiana benthamiana nuclear import factor importin α, suggesting that P7a is translocated into the nucleus by the classical importin α/ß-dependent pathway. Moreover, P7a also interacted with the nucleolar protein fibrillarin. Mutations in the R-rich motif of P7a diminished P7a interactions with importin α and fibrillarin, influenced viral replication in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts and altered the symptom phenotype and viral RNA accumulation in Chenopodium amaranticolor plants. These results demonstrate that the R-rich motif of P7a is correlated with nuclear and nucleolar localization, viral replication and virus infection.