Overexpression of a modified eIF4E regulates potato virus Y resistance at the transcriptional level in potato

Potato virus Y (PVY) is a major pathogen of potatoes with major impact on global agricultural production. Resistance to PVY can be achieved by engineering potatoes to express a recessive, resistant allele of eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E, a host dependency factor essential to PVY replication. Here we analyzed transcriptome changes in eIF4E over-expressing potatoes to shed light on the mechanism underpinning eIF4E-mediated recessive PVY resistance.

As anticipated, modified eIF4E-expressing potatoes demonstrated a high level of resistance, eIF4E expression, and an unexpected suppression of the susceptible allele transcript, likely explaining the bulk of the potent antiviral phenotype. In resistant plants, we also detected marked upregulation of genes involved in cell stress responses.

Our results reveal a previously unanticipated second layer of signaling attributable to eIF4E regulatory control, and potentially relevant to establishment of a broader, more systematic antiviral host defense.