MicroRNA-based gene silencing is a functional genomics tool for a wide range of eukaryotes. As a basis for broader application of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to photosynthesis research, we employed a tobacco rattle virus (TRV) vector to silence expression of the nuclear psbS gene in Nicotiana benthamiana. The 22-kiloDalton psbS protein is essential for xanthophylland H-dependent thermal...

Infection of plant cells by viral pathogens triggers RNA silencing, an innate antiviral defense mechanism. In response to infection, small RNAs (sRNAs) are produced that associate with Argonaute (AGO)-containing silencing complexes which act to inactivate viral genomes by posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Deep sequencing was used to compare virus-derived small RNAs (vsRNAs) in cassava ...

Cytosine methylation can be induced by double-stranded RNAs through the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway. A DNA glycosylase REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1) participates in DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis and may possibly counteract RdDM. Here, we isolated an ortholog of ROS1 (NbROS1) from Nicotiana benthamiana and examined the antagonistic activity of NbROS1 against virus-induced Rd...

Four glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes, NbGSTU1, NbGSTU2, NbGSTU3, and NbGSTF1, were amplified from cDNA of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves infected with Colletotrichum destructivum using primers based on conserved regions of N. tabacum GST sequences. Expression of NbGSTU1 and NbGSTU3 increased progressively during infection by either C. destructivum or Colletotrichum orbiculare, except for a ...

The nongreen plastids, such as etioplasts, chromoplasts, etc., as well as chloroplasts, are all derived from proplastids in the meristem. To date, the Min system members in plants have been identified as regulators of FtsZ-ring placement, which are essential for the symmetrical division of chloroplasts. However, the regulation of FtsZ-ring placement in nongreen plastids is poorly understood. In...

Like other eukaryotes, plants use DICER-LIKE (DCL) proteins as the central enzymes of RNA silencing, which regulates gene expression and mediates defense against viruses. But why do plants like Arabidopsis express four DCLs, a diversity unmatched by other kingdoms? Here we show that two nuclear DNA viruses (geminivirus CaLCuV and pararetrovirus CaMV) and a cytoplasmic RNA tobamovirus ORMV are d...

Abstract Background Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) represent a large subfamily of and play vital roles in diverse physiological processes regulating plant growth development. Results CaCRK5 transcripts were induced pepper upon the infection Ralstonia solanacearum treatment with salicylic acid. The fusions between green fluorescence protein targeted to plasma membrane. Suppression vi...

RNA silencing has an important role in defending against virus infection in plants. Plants with the deficiency of RNA silencing components often show enhanced susceptibility to viral infections. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRs) mediated-antiviral defense has a pivotal role in resistance to many plant viruses. In RDR6-mediated defense against viral infection, a plant-specific RNA binding prot...