Fig. 8: Model for N6-methyladenosine RNA modification promotes viral genomic RNA stability and infection.
From: N6-methyladenosine RNA modification promotes viral genomic RNA stability and infection
During WYMV infection, NIb protein recruits TaMTB into the WYMV replicate sites then directly binds to WYMV RNA1 for m6A modification. This m6A modification stabilizes the WYMV RNA1 for a longer lifetime to promote WYMV accumulation. In addition, TaMTB (SNP176C) protein has a higher binding affinity for NIb compared to TaMTB (SNP176A) enhancing recruitment into VCR and mediating m6A modification to stabilize WYMV RNA1 to enhance viral infection. Therefore, wheat varieties containing TaMTB (SNP176C) allele are more susceptible to WYMV than those with the TaMTB (SNP176A) allele. The NIb-TaMTB interaction may also suppress the m6A modification levels of resistance related genes to further promote WYMV infection.
