Interspecies/Intergroup Complementation of Orthotospovirus Replication and Movement through Reverse Genetics Systems
Mingfeng Feng, Minglong Chen, Yulong Yuan, Qinhai Liu, Ruixiang Cheng, Tongqing Yang, Luyao Li, Rong Guo, Yongxin Dong, Jing Chen, Yawen Yang, Yuling Yan, Hongmin Cui, Jing Dong, Jinrui Kang, Shuxian Chen, Jia Li, Min Zhu, Changjun Huang, Zhongkai Zhang, Richard Kormelink, Xiaorong Tao
Abstract
Orthotospoviruses are agriculturally important negative-strand RNA viruses and cause severe yield-losses on many crops worldwide. Whereas the emergence of new animal-infecting bunyaviruses is frequently associated with genetic reassortants, this issue remains underexposed with the plant-infecting orthotospovirus. With the development of reverse genetics systems for orthotospoviruses from different geographic regions, the interspecies/intergroup replication/movement complementation between American- and Euro/Asian-type orthotospoviruses were investigated. Genomic RNAs from American orthotospoviruses can be replicated by the RdRp and N from those of Euro/Asia-group orthotospoviruses, and vice versa. However, their genomic RNAs cannot be replicated by a heterologous combination of RdRp from one geographic group and N from another geographic group. Cell-to-cell movement of viral entity is supported by NSm from both geographic groups, with highest efficiency by NSm from viruses belonging to the same group. Our findings provide important insights into the genetic interaction and exchange ability of viral gene functions between different species of orthotospovirus.