A viral protein hijacks the plant ethylene signaling to manipulate insect feeding behavior.

Authors

Ziyi Li, Simin Liu, Guotao He, Ju Zhou, Gufeng Yuan, Zhibing Fu, Ziyang Jiao, Huihua Tan, Wenwei Tang, Wen Li, Yanmei Liu, Yafei Tang, Zifu He, Tong Zhang, Zhanbiao Li, Shunkang Zhou, Yaling Zhao

Published in

Pest management science. Jun 22, 2026. Epub Jun 22, 2026.

Abstract

Insect-borne viruses represent a major threat to global agriculture and public health. Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV), a destructive pathogen transmitted by brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stå), lacks comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying its replication and transmission.
This study reveals that the RRSV P6 protein serves as a key regulator of vector-borne transmission by sequentially interacting with RTE1-HOMOLOG 2 (OsRTH2) and ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE3-LIKE 2 (OsEIL2) in the host ethylene signaling pathway. This biphasic strategy manipulates brown planthopper (BPH) behavior, initially promoting viral replication and subsequently facilitating epidemic spread. Furthermore, the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) significantly impairs BPH fitness, reducing survival and fecundity.
Our study elucidates how a plant virus manipulates the host ethylene signaling pathway to promote its own replication and transmission. Moreover, we identify the ethylene biosynthesis precursor ACC as a potential, environmentally friendly control agent against brown planthoppers. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

PMID:
42328850
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Jun 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.