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Article

Shallot virus X p42 Protein Expressed in Concert with Virus Movement Proteins Is a Suppressor of Two Plant Antiviral Defense Mechanisms

by
Denis A. Chergintsev
,
Alexander A. Lezzhov
,
Ekaterina A. Lazareva
,
Anastasia K. Atabekova
,
Anna D. Solovieva
,
Sergey Y. Morozov
and
Andrey G. Solovyev
*
A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow, Russia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(16), 2552; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162552 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 1 July 2025 / Revised: 13 August 2025 / Accepted: 15 August 2025 / Published: 16 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Virology and Disease Management in Crops)

Abstract

The genomes of viruses in the Allexivirus genus encode the p42 protein, which is considered the hallmark of the genus. The functions of p42 have not yet been studied experimentally and cannot be predicted based on sequence similarity, as p42-related proteins are not found among known cell or viral proteins. Here, p42 of Shallot virus X (ShVX), the type allexivirus, is demonstrated to be translated via a leaky scanning mechanism on a template comprising three “triple gene block” (TGB) transport genes and the p42 gene. Sequence analysis shows that this p42 expression mechanism is conserved in the vast majority of allexiviruses. p42 binds single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) but not double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in vitro and localizes to the cytoplasm in association with microtubules and microtubule-bound bodies. In transient expression assays, p42 exhibits weak but detectable suppression of silencing induced by ssRNA but not by dsRNA. In addition, p42 suppresses silencing in the context of virus infection. Furthermore, p42 inhibits nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) induced by a long 3′-terminal untranslated region of mRNA. Taken together, these findings provide initial evidence that the ShVX TGB/p42 gene module functions as a single genomic unit in terms of protein expression, that p42 acts as a suppressor of NMD and silencing, and that it may have multiple roles, while the precise biological significance of p42 in these roles remains to be experimentally confirmed.
Keywords: plant virus; plant defense response; RNA silencing; nonsense-mediated decay; virus protein; silencing suppressor; RNA binding; microtubules; expression mechanism; leaky scanning plant virus; plant defense response; RNA silencing; nonsense-mediated decay; virus protein; silencing suppressor; RNA binding; microtubules; expression mechanism; leaky scanning

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chergintsev, D.A.; Lezzhov, A.A.; Lazareva, E.A.; Atabekova, A.K.; Solovieva, A.D.; Morozov, S.Y.; Solovyev, A.G. Shallot virus X p42 Protein Expressed in Concert with Virus Movement Proteins Is a Suppressor of Two Plant Antiviral Defense Mechanisms. Plants 2025, 14, 2552. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162552

AMA Style

Chergintsev DA, Lezzhov AA, Lazareva EA, Atabekova AK, Solovieva AD, Morozov SY, Solovyev AG. Shallot virus X p42 Protein Expressed in Concert with Virus Movement Proteins Is a Suppressor of Two Plant Antiviral Defense Mechanisms. Plants. 2025; 14(16):2552. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162552

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chergintsev, Denis A., Alexander A. Lezzhov, Ekaterina A. Lazareva, Anastasia K. Atabekova, Anna D. Solovieva, Sergey Y. Morozov, and Andrey G. Solovyev. 2025. "Shallot virus X p42 Protein Expressed in Concert with Virus Movement Proteins Is a Suppressor of Two Plant Antiviral Defense Mechanisms" Plants 14, no. 16: 2552. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162552

APA Style

Chergintsev, D. A., Lezzhov, A. A., Lazareva, E. A., Atabekova, A. K., Solovieva, A. D., Morozov, S. Y., & Solovyev, A. G. (2025). Shallot virus X p42 Protein Expressed in Concert with Virus Movement Proteins Is a Suppressor of Two Plant Antiviral Defense Mechanisms. Plants, 14(16), 2552. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162552

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