MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1605199
The 6-kilodalton peptide 1 of the family Potyviridae: Small in size but powerful in function
Provisionally accepted
- Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
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The Potyviridae family represents one of the most economically significant groups of plant RNA viruses, causing severe yield losses in agriculturally important crops. Among the viral proteins encoded by potyviruses, the 6kilodalton peptide 1 (6K1) has emerged as a critical yet enigmatic player in viral pathogenesis. Despite its small size, 6K1 exhibits diverse functions, including facilitating viral replication complex (VRC) assembly, modulating host membrane permeability as a viroporin, and interacting with host factors to promote infection. This review synthesizes current knowledge on 6K1, focusing on its structural characteristics, evolutionary conservation, molecular interactions, and potential as a target for antiviral strategies. We further discuss unresolved questions regarding its ion channel activity, polyprotein processing dynamics, and functional parallels with animal virus viroporins. Understanding 6K1's multifunctionality provides new insights into viral infection mechanisms and opens avenues for novel disease control approaches.
Keywords: 6K1, Potyviridae, Viroporin, viral replication complex, membrane remodeling, antiviral targets
Received: 03 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Korxeelor, Wang, Chang, Jiang, Wu and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaofei Cheng, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
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