Transgenic resistance to Bamboo mosaic virus by expression of interfering satellite RNA

Plant genetic engineering has broadened the options for plant virus resistance and is mostly based on pathogen-derived resistance. Previously, we have shown that interfering satellite RNA (satRNA) of Bamboo mosaic virus (satBaMV) greatly reduces Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) accumulation and BaMV-induced symptoms in co-inoculated plants. Here, we generated a nonviral source of virus-resistant transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana by introducing interfering satBaMV. Asymptomatic transgenic N. benthamiana lines were highly resistant to BaMV virion and viral RNA infection, and the expression of the transgene BSL6 was higher in asymptomatic than mildly symptomatic lines. In addition, BaMV- and satBaMV-specific small RNAs were detectable only after BaMV challenge, and their levels were associated with genomic viral RNA or satRNA levels. By transcriptomic analysis, the salicylic acid (SA) signalling pathway was not induced in satBaMV transgenic A. thaliana in mock conditions, suggesting that two major antiviral mechanisms, RNA silencing and SA-mediated resistance, are not involved directly in transgenic satBaMV-mediated BaMV interference. In contrast, resistance is associated with the level of the interfering satBaMV transgene. We propose satBaMV-mediated BaMV interference in transgenic plants by competition for replicase with BaMV.