Helper component-proteinase enhances the activity of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase and promotes the biosynthesis of plastidic isoprenoids in Potato virus Y-infected tobacco

Virus-infected plants show strong morphological and physiological alterations. Many physiological processes in chloroplast are affected, including the plastidic isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway [the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway]; indeed, isoprenoid contents have been demonstrated to be altered in virus-infected plants. In this study, we found that the levels of photosynthetic pigments and abscisic acid (ABA) were altered in Potato virus Y (PVY)-infected tobacco. Using yeast two-hybrid assays, we demonstrated an interaction between virus protein PVY helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro) and tobacco chloroplast protein 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (NtDXS). This interaction was confirmed using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays and pull-down assays. The Transket_pyr domain (residues 394–561) of NtDXS was required for interaction with HC-Pro, while the N-terminal region of HC-Pro (residues 1–97) was necessary for interaction with NtDXS. Using in vitro enzyme activity assays, PVY HC-Pro was found to promote the synthase activity of NtDXS. We observed increases in photosynthetic pigment contents and ABA levels in transgenic plants with HC-Pro accumulating in the chloroplasts. During virus infection, the enhancement of plastidic isoprenoid biosynthesis was attributed to the enhancement of DXS activity by HC-Pro. Our study reveals a new role of HC-Pro in the host plant metabolic system and will contribute to the study of host–virus relationships.