Discovery of Novel Thrips Vector Proteins That Bind to the Viral Attachment Protein of the Plant Bunyavirus Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

Abstract

Thrips-transmitted viruses cause devastating losses to numerous food crops worldwide. For negative-sense RNA viruses that infect plants, the arthropod serves as a host as well by supporting virus replication in specific tissues and organs of the vector. The goal of this work was to identify thrips proteins that bind directly to the viral attachment protein and thus may play a role in the infection cycle in the insect. Using the model plant bunyavirus tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), and the most efficient thrips vector, we identified and validated six TSWV-interacting proteins from Frankliniella occidentalis first-instar larvae. Two proteins, an endocuticle structural glycoprotein and cyclophilin, were able to interact directly with the TSWV attachment protein, G N , in insect cells. The TSWV G N -interacting proteins provide new targets for disrupting the viral disease cycle in the arthropod vector and could be putative determinants of vector competence.