Rice ragged stunt virus Pns10 induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis to promote viral infection in Nilaparvata lugens through disrupting the NlNDUFS1-NlPHB2 interaction.

Apoptosis, a programmed cell death process, plays crucial roles in host antiviral response. Although there are many reports on the relationship between cell apoptosis and viral infection, the mechanisms underlying plant arbovirus-induced apoptosis in insect vectors remain largely unclear. Here, we r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lianshun Zheng, Shuai Fu, Ming Zeng, Liyan Li, Dan Wang, Shibo Gao, Yunge Zhang, Cui Zhang, Shifang Fei, Xuan Ye, Lele Chen, Qianhui Chen, Yaqin Wang, Xueping Zhou, Yan Xie, Boli Hu, Jianxiang Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-08-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013415
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Apoptosis, a programmed cell death process, plays crucial roles in host antiviral response. Although there are many reports on the relationship between cell apoptosis and viral infection, the mechanisms underlying plant arbovirus-induced apoptosis in insect vectors remain largely unclear. Here, we reported that apoptosis promotes rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV) infection in Nilaparvata lugens (brown planthopper), and RRSV-encoded Pns10 protein can induce apoptosis in N. lugens. The Pns10 interacts with N. lugens NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase 75 kDa Fe-S protein 1(NlNDUFS1), a core subunit of mitochondrial complex I. Silencing of NlNDUFS1 expression in N. lugens impaired mitochondrial complex I activity, decreasing ATP production and increasing mitochondrial ROS accumulation. This dysregulation triggers apoptosis to promote RRSV infection in N. lugens. Furthermore, RRSV Pns10 disrupts the interaction between NlNDUFS1 and NlProhibitin 2 (NlPHB2) in N. lugens to impair mitochondrial complex I activity, leading to a decrease of ATP production and an increase of mitochondrial ROS accumulation. The excessive accumulation of mitochondrial ROS causes genomic DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Collectively, the findings presented here illuminate a novel mechanism by which a plant virus manipulates vector mitochondrial apoptosis to benefit viral infection, and offer insights for future transmission-blocking interventions.
ISSN:1553-7366
1553-7374