Nicotiana benthamiana Class 1 Reversibly Glycosylated Polypeptides Suppress Tobacco Mosaic Virus Infection

Reversibly glycosylated polypeptides (RGPs) have been identified in many plant species and play an important role in cell wall formation, intercellular transport regulation, and plant–virus interactions. Most plants have several RGP genes with different expression patterns depending on the organ and developmental stage. Here, we report on four members of the RGP family in N. benthamiana. Based on a homology search, NbRGP1-3 and NbRGP5 were assigned to the class 1 and class 2 RGPs, respectively. We demonstrated that NbRGP1–3 and 5 mRNA accumulation increases significantly in response to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection. Moreover, all identified class 1 NbRGPs (as distinct from NbRGP5) suppress TMV intercellular transport and replication in N. benthamiana. Elevated expression of NbRGP1–2 led to the stimulation of callose deposition at plasmodesmata, indicating that RGP-mediated TMV local spread could be affected via a callose-dependent mechanism. It was also demonstrated that NbRGP1 interacts with TMV movement protein (MP) in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, class 1 NbRGP1–2 play an antiviral role by impeding intercellular transport of the virus by affecting plasmodesmata callose and directly interacting with TMV MP, resulting in the reduced viral spread and replication.