N6-Methyladenosine Modification Regulates Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Virus Infection in Cucumis sativus

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a common epigenetic
modification
found in eukaryotic RNA. Recent studies have increasingly highlighted
the importance of m6A modification in plant defense against
viruses. In this investigation, we found that prunus necrotic ringspot
virus (PNRSV) infection affected the m6A modification process.
Plant transcriptomes and epitranscriptomes were sequenced to coanalyze
the dynamic changes of m6A modifications after PNRSV infection.
Further studies revealed that the silencing of evolutionarily conserved
C-terminal region (ECTs), encoding m6A readers, led to
increased PNRSV accumulation, indicating that ECTs confer resistance
to PNRSV. Additionally, we demonstrated that UPF3 and SMG7, which are involved in non-sense-mediated
mRNA decay pathways, as well as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL),
a well-known key enzyme in plant defense and an identified m6A-modified gene following PNRSV infection, play crucial roles in
regulating PNRSV infection. These findings provide new insights into
understanding PNRSV infection and further elucidate the role of m6A in modulating viral infection in plants.