ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1551362
This article is part of the Research TopicInterplay of Plant Volatiles in Enhancing Immunity and Sustainable Pest ManagementView all 5 articles
A viral movement protein mediates host volatile biosynthesis to coattract vectors and nonvectors and enhances viral infection
Provisionally accepted
Shijun Li1Xiangwen Luo2Yu Zhang2Zhanhong Zhang2Xiao Yang2Xuguo Zhou3Xin Wang4Xian Ouyang2Qu Xiaoxin5
Deyong Zhang2
Songbai Zhang2*
Yong Liu2- 1Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- 2Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Changsha, China
- 3Illinois Rocstar, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States
- 4Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
- 5Institute of Bast Fiber Crops and Center for Southern Economic Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
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The literature shows vector-transmitted plant viruses mediate host volatile biosynthesis to attract vectors and repel nonvectors, benefiting plant-infecting viruses and enhancing their spread. In this study, pepper veinal yellows virus (PeVYV) and its encoded movement protein P4 were shown to mediate host volatile biosynthesis to co-attract its exclusive vector aphids and nonvector Q-whiteflies; both have been proven existing food competition. The P4 protein enhances the biosynthesis of three volatiles and reduces the biosynthesis of one volatile involved in co-attracting and co-repelling aphids and Q-whiteflies. Viral replication is enhanced significantly in plants co-fed on by aphids and Q-whiteflies compared with plants fed on individual insects. Viral replication is enhanced significantly in the early stage for plants fed on by Q-whiteflies while in the late stage for plants fed on by aphids. Trans-zeatin (tZ) biosynthesis was increased in plants fed on by aphids and Qwhiteflies, and tZ enhanced viral replication in these plants. These data suggest that the PeVYV P4 protein mediates host volatile biosynthesis to co-attract vectors and nonvectors, benefiting viral infection probably by enhancing tZ biosynthesis. Data in this study have broad implications regarding the ecological significance of whiteflies in various agricultural ecosystems where aphids are the key viral transmitters.
Keywords: pepper veinal yellows virus, Vector, nonvector, volatiles, tetrainteraction
Received: 25 Dec 2024; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Luo, Zhang, Zhang, Yang, Zhou, Wang, Ouyang, Xiaoxin, Zhang, Zhang and Liu. 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: Songbai Zhang, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Changsha, China
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