Comparison of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus-Induced Gene Expression Pattern in Tomato and Tobacco Plants

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is a devastating pathogen that causes substantial yield losses, and this virus can infect both tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana). In this study, a constructed infectious clone of TYLCV was used for the exploration of tomato and tobacco plants' response to virus infection. Infected plants exhibit typical symptoms of TYLCV, including leaf chlorosis, curling, and plant dwarfing. Reactive oxygen species accumulated, and severe cell necrosis appeared in the tomatoes and tobacco that were infected. After TYLCV infection, 6,775 and 900 genes' expressions were up-regulated in tomatoes and tobacco, including MYB and MADS-box transcription factors, serine/threonine protein kinase, heat shock proteins, cytochrome P450s, E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, RAV transcription factors. Several stress-responsive kinases involved in autophagy were significantly up-regulated in tobacco but not in tomato. Moreover, silencing the RAV transcription factor, which is associated with the salicylic acid induced antiviral signaling, led to decreased virus abundance in tomato leaves. The results are helpful for an in-depth understanding of plants' resistance to TYLCV infection.