Editing Strigolactone Hormone Receptor for Robust Antiviral Silencing in Rice
Description
The small-interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway directs broad-spectrum antiviral defense by RNA silencing so that virulent infection requires efficient suppression of the defense mechanism. Here we show that strigolactones promotes antiviral silencing in rice plants by transcriptional activation of RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 1 (RDR1) and 6 (RDR6). We demonstrate that protein P3 of rice grassy stunt virus (RGSV) blocks strigolactones signaling by directly sequestering the receptor DWARF14 from DWARF3. Structural and functional analyses of the P3-DWARF14 complex reveal that aspartic acid at position 102 (D102) of DWARF14 is essential for P3 interaction but not strigolactone perception. Notably, single D102N substitution of DWARF14 introduced into two rice cultivars by cytosine base editing confers resistance against RGSV by blocking viral suppression of strigolactone signaling-dependent antiviral silencing. Our findings establish a transgene-free strategy for engineering disease resistance by precise genome editing of the strigolactone receptor to escape pathogen suppression on endogenous defense pathway.
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Institutions
- Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFujian, Fuzhou