A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis
Abstract Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) regulates diverse biological functions by mediating the assembly of biomolecular condensates. However, it remains unclear how host LLPS is targeted by viruses during infection. Here we show that a plant bunyaviral protein, the disease-specific protein (...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61528-0 |
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| author | Jing Zou Shuai Zhang Ying Chen Chun He Xin Pan Yimin Zhang Jianwei Xu Lijia Zheng Hongxin Guan Ming Wu Dongqi Xie Yinghua Ji Xianyang Fang Yi Li Shou-wei Ding Xiaofeng Fang Shanshan Zhao Jianguo Wu |
| author_facet | Jing Zou Shuai Zhang Ying Chen Chun He Xin Pan Yimin Zhang Jianwei Xu Lijia Zheng Hongxin Guan Ming Wu Dongqi Xie Yinghua Ji Xianyang Fang Yi Li Shou-wei Ding Xiaofeng Fang Shanshan Zhao Jianguo Wu |
| author_sort | Jing Zou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) regulates diverse biological functions by mediating the assembly of biomolecular condensates. However, it remains unclear how host LLPS is targeted by viruses during infection. Here we show that a plant bunyaviral protein, the disease-specific protein (SP) encoded by rice stripe virus (RSV), possesses phase separation potential through its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region 1 (IDR1). In vivo, however, SP does not form phase-separated biomolecular condensates independently but utilizes its phase separation properties to interfere with the phase separation of the SERRATE protein (SE), a key component of Dicing bodies essential for microRNA processing. By disrupting SE phase separation, SP inhibits D-body assembly and miRNA biogenesis. Our study demonstrates that a viral protein can modulate host microRNA processing by targeting LLPS, revealing a previously uncharacterized mechanism involved in viral infection strategies and miRNA biogenesis regulation in plants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4b58134318748ee8d248ca5a189539e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4b58134318748ee8d248ca5a189539e2025-08-20T04:01:41ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111610.1038/s41467-025-61528-0A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesisJing Zou0Shuai Zhang1Ying Chen2Chun He3Xin Pan4Yimin Zhang5Jianwei Xu6Lijia Zheng7Hongxin Guan8Ming Wu9Dongqi Xie10Yinghua Ji11Xianyang Fang12Yi Li13Shou-wei Ding14Xiaofeng Fang15Shanshan Zhao16Jianguo Wu17State Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityCenter for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityKey Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityHigentec Co., LtdKey Laboratory of OptoElectronic Science and Technology for Medicine of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityCenter for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityInstitute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural SciencesKey Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityDepartment of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of CaliforniaCenter for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityState Key Laboratory for Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityAbstract Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) regulates diverse biological functions by mediating the assembly of biomolecular condensates. However, it remains unclear how host LLPS is targeted by viruses during infection. Here we show that a plant bunyaviral protein, the disease-specific protein (SP) encoded by rice stripe virus (RSV), possesses phase separation potential through its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region 1 (IDR1). In vivo, however, SP does not form phase-separated biomolecular condensates independently but utilizes its phase separation properties to interfere with the phase separation of the SERRATE protein (SE), a key component of Dicing bodies essential for microRNA processing. By disrupting SE phase separation, SP inhibits D-body assembly and miRNA biogenesis. Our study demonstrates that a viral protein can modulate host microRNA processing by targeting LLPS, revealing a previously uncharacterized mechanism involved in viral infection strategies and miRNA biogenesis regulation in plants.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61528-0 |
| spellingShingle | Jing Zou Shuai Zhang Ying Chen Chun He Xin Pan Yimin Zhang Jianwei Xu Lijia Zheng Hongxin Guan Ming Wu Dongqi Xie Yinghua Ji Xianyang Fang Yi Li Shou-wei Ding Xiaofeng Fang Shanshan Zhao Jianguo Wu A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis Nature Communications |
| title | A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| title_full | A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| title_fullStr | A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| title_short | A plant bunyaviral protein disrupts SERRATE phase separation to modulate microRNA biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| title_sort | plant bunyaviral protein disrupts serrate phase separation to modulate microrna biogenesis during viral pathogenesis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61528-0 |
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