Abstract

Simple Summary

   In this study, an integrated analysis of the mRNA and protein was
   performed to identify important putative regulators involved in the
   transmission of CMV (cucumber mosaic virus) by aphids. At the level of
   transcription, a total of 20,550 genes (≥2-fold expression difference)
   were identified as being differentially expressed genes (DEGs) 24 h
   after healthy aphid transfer to infected tobacco plants using the
   RNA-seq approach. At the protein level, 744 proteins were classified as
   being differentially abundant between virus-treated and control Myzus
   persicae using iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute
   quantitation) analysis. The combined mRNA and protein analysis enabled
   the identification of some viral putative regulators, such as cuticle
   proteins, ribosomal proteins, and cytochrome P450 enzymes. The results
   show that most of the key putative regulators were highly accumulated
   at the protein level. Based on those findings, we can speculate that
   the process by which aphids spread CMV is mainly related to
   post-translational regulation rather than transcription.

Abstract

   Aphids transmit CMV (cucumber mosaic virus) in a non-persistent manner.
   However, little is known about the mechanism of CMV transmission. In
   this study, an integrated analysis of the mRNA and protein was
   performed to identify important putative regulators involved in the
   transmission of CMV by aphids. At the level of transcription, a total
   of 20,550 genes (≥2-fold expression difference) were identified as
   being differentially expressed genes (DEGs) 24 h after healthy aphid
   transfer to infected tobacco plants using the RNA-seq approach. At the
   protein level, 744 proteins were classified as being differentially
   abundant between virus-treated and control M. persicae using iTRAQ
   (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation) analysis. The
   combined mRNA and protein analysis enabled the identification of some
   viral putative regulators, such as cuticle proteins, ribosomal
   proteins, and cytochrome P450 enzymes. The results show that most of
   the key putative regulators were highly accumulated at the protein
   level. Based on those findings, we can speculate that the process by
   which aphids spread CMV is mainly related to post-translational
   regulation rather than transcription.

   Keywords: cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), iTRAQ, Myzus persicae,
   transcriptome

1. Introduction

   The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae),
   is one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide [[34]1].
   Aphids have a wide host range, exceeding 400 plant species from 40
   different plant families, and can cause severe yield losses in
   agricultural production systems [[35]2]. In addition to sucking phloem
   sap, aphids are also vectors for the transmission of more than 200
   different plant viruses [[36]1,[37]3]. In general, aphids live on
   different hosts in the winter and in the summer. Aphids exhibit
   parthenogenetic reproduction in some conditions, so they can reproduce
   on the same host in all seasons, and the harm caused by aphids is
   enduring. Due to the parthenogenetic reproduction of their hosts, plant
   viruses spread by aphids may cause outbreaks that can lead to
   significant crop losses. In addition, plant virus also can affect
   behavior of aphid vectors. Peñaflor et al. found the population growth
   of Aphis glycine was reduced and the probing preferences was increased