NF-YA transcription factors suppress jasmonic acid-mediated antiviral defense and facilitate viral infection in rice

NF-Y transcription factors are known to play many diverse roles in the development and physiological responses of plants but little is known about their role in plant defense. Here, we demonstrate the negative roles of rice NF-YA family genes in antiviral defense against two different plant viruses, Rice stripe virus (RSV, Tenuivirus) and Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV, Fijivirus). RSV and SRBSDV both induced the expression of OsNF-YA family genes. Overexpression of OsNF-YAs enhanced rice susceptibility to virus infection, while OsNF-YAs RNAi mutants were more resistant. Transcriptome sequencing showed that the expression of jasmonic acid (JA)-related genes was significantly decreased in plants overexpressing OsNF-YA when they were infected by viruses. qRT-PCR and JA sensitivity assays confirmed that OsNF-YAs play negative roles in regulating the JA pathway. Further experiments showed that OsNF-YAs physically interact with JA signaling transcription factors OsMYC2/3 and interfere with JA signaling by dissociating the OsMYC2/3-OsMED25 complex, which inhibits the transcriptional activation activity of OsMYC2/3. Together, our results reveal that OsNF-YAs broadly inhibit plant antiviral defense by repressing JA signaling pathways, and provide new insight into how OsNF-YAs are directly associated with the JA pathway. Author summaryIn the arms race between host and viruses, plants have sophisticated defense strategies to cope with pathogenic invasion. Our previous research has shown that plant hormones, especially JA signaling, play essential roles in plant antiviral defense. Therefore, identification of the regulatory components and network of JA signaling is an important contribution to understanding plant antiviral defense. Here, we found that NF-YAs widely repress plant resistance against different types of viruses. We show that NF-YAs inhibit JA-mediated antiviral defense by dissociating the OsMYC2/3-OsMED25 complex, and inhibiting the transcriptional activation activity of OsMYC2/3. Together, our results greatly expand our knowledge about the function of NF-YA family genes associated with JA-mediated antiviral immunity.

Automated summary

NF-YA transcription factors, specifically OsNF-YA genes, were found to have negative roles in plant antiviral defense by repressing JA signaling pathways. This study showed that overexpression of OsNF-YAs enhanced susceptibility to virus infection, while RNAi mutants of OsNF-YAs were more resistant. The authors also discovered that OsNF-YAs physically interact with JA signaling transcription factors, interfering with JA signaling and inhibiting the activation activity of OsMYC2/3. These findings provide new insights into the association between NF-YA genes and the JA pathway in plant antiviral defense.