Oral: Contributions of Plant Viruses to Phytobiome Research
60-S
Virus-induced changes in grass systems biology
K. MANDADI (1), K. Scholthof (2) (1) Texas A&M AgriLife Research, U.S.A.; (2) Texas A&M University, U.S.A.
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Grass viral diseases cause significant losses to global agricultural production, yet little is known about grass-virus interactions and antiviral defenses, when compared to dicot-virus interactions. To address this knowledge-gap, we established and utilized Brachypodium distachyon and Setaria viridis as models for C3 and C4 grass-virus interactions, respectively. Using tiling microarrays, high-throughput RNA-sequencing, and LC-MS/MS tools, we analyzed the transcriptome-, spliceome-, and metabolite-level changes occurring during Panicum mosaic virus (PMV) infection of Brachypodium. Further, using Brachypodium and Setaria as host plants, and six other monocot-infecting viruses (Brome mosaic virus, Barley stripe mosaic virus, Maize mild mottle virus, Sorghum yellow banding virus, Wheat streak mosaic virus and Foxtail mosaic virus), we dissected conserved, as well as virus-specific, and host-dependent effects in defense hormone responses and alternative splicing processes affected during diverse C3 and C4 grass:virus interactions. Together, these investigations provided new insights in our understanding of grass systems biology and antiviral defenses modulated during agronomically-significant grass virus infections. This knowledge could be useful to develop tools and strategies to mitigate crop losses caused by grass virus infections.