Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Virology
99-P
Identification of conserved transcriptome responses to propagative plant viruses in insect vectors.
K. MARTIN (1), K. Barandoc-Alviar (1), D. Rotenberg (1), A. Whitfield (1) (1) Kansas State University, U.S.A.
The plant Nucleorhabdovirus, Maize mosaic virus (MMV), is vectored by the corn planthopper, Peregrinus maidis. Previously, we conducted an RNA-Seq project to identify differentially expressed (DE) transcripts in adults during infection with MMV. We identified a total of 144 transcripts, with 77 genes upregulated and 67 genes downregulated. To identify conserved transcriptome responses in vectors to propagative viruses, we compared the DE transcripts in our system to two other systems: white backed planthoppers, Sogatella furcifera, exposed to Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV, Fijivirus), and the black-faced leafhopper, Graminella nigrifrons, infected with Maize fine streak virus (MFSV, Nucleorhabdovirus). In a tblastx analysis with a cut-off value of 10-3, we identified DE transcripts that are shared between systems. Twenty three transcripts were shared between all three systems. Two transcripts were unique to P. maidis and G. nigrifrons and 38 transcripts were unique to P. maidis and S. furcifera. Protein binding was the largest category of the 144 P. maidis transcripts (19), 10 were shared in all three systems. Functional characterization is underway on transcripts potentially involved in viral replication, intercellular movement and defense. The responsive genes identified in these vectors of propagative viruses may represent a conserved anti-viral strategy and could be targets for resistance against a diverse range of viruses.