eIFiso4G editing confers high and broad-spectrum resistance against rice yellow mottle virus
Abstract
Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is one of the most devastating viral pathogens affecting rice cultivation in Africa. The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G isoform eIFiso4G1 plays a pivotal role in rice susceptibility to the virus. Naturally occuring resistance alleles impair infection but are predominantly found in the African cultivated species Oryza glaberrima, whose use in breeding programs is limited by interspecific sterility barriers with the widely grown O. sativa. Here, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to generate knockout (KO) mutations in eIFiso4G1 as well as insertion-deletion (Indel) variants within the region involved in interaction with the viral protein VPg. KO mutations conferred high resistance to RYMV. No resistancebreaking events were observed, suggesting that this resistance may be more durable than that conferred by naturally occuring alleles. However, complete gene KO slightly affected plant growth. Lines carrying Indel mutations in the VPg-interacting region displayed variable resistance levels, with some variants conferring high resistance without compromising plant development. Structural modeling of the eIFiso4G1 variants and their complexes with VPg provided mechanistic insights into how specific Indels modulate the resistance phenotype.
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BibTeX
@article{auguy2026eifiso4g,
title = {{eIFiso4G editing confers high and broad-spectrum resistance against rice yellow mottle virus}},
author = {Florence Auguy and Sophie Chéron and Laurence Dossou and Agnès Pinel-Galzi and Emilie Thomas and Jamel Aribi and Marcos Giovani Celli and Sébastien Cunnac and Eugénie Hébrard and Laurence Albar},
journal = {Peer Community in Plants},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.24072/pcjournal.740},
url = {https://institut-agro-montpellier.hal.science/hal-05841006v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - eIFiso4G editing confers high and broad-spectrum resistance against rice yellow mottle virus
AU - Florence Auguy
AU - Sophie Chéron
AU - Laurence Dossou
AU - Agnès Pinel-Galzi
AU - Emilie Thomas
AU - Jamel Aribi
AU - Marcos Giovani Celli
AU - Sébastien Cunnac
AU - Eugénie Hébrard
AU - Laurence Albar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/08
JO - Peer Community in Plants
DO - 10.24072/pcjournal.740
UR - https://institut-agro-montpellier.hal.science/hal-05841006v1
AB - Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is one of the most devastating viral pathogens affecting rice cultivation in Africa. The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G isoform eIFiso4G1 plays a pivotal role in rice susceptibility to the virus. Naturally occuring resistance alleles impair infection but are predominantly found in the African cultivated species Oryza glaberrima, whose use in breeding programs is limited by interspecific sterility barriers with the widely grown O. sativa. Here, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to generate knockout (KO) mutations in eIFiso4G1 as well as insertion-deletion (Indel) variants within the region involved in interaction with the viral protein VPg. KO mutations conferred high resistance to RYMV. No resistancebreaking events were observed, suggesting that this resistance may be more durable than that conferred by naturally occuring alleles. However, complete gene KO slightly affected plant growth. Lines carrying Indel mutations in the VPg-interacting region displayed variable resistance levels, with some variants conferring high resistance without compromising plant development. Structural modeling of the eIFiso4G1 variants and their complexes with VPg provided mechanistic insights into how specific Indels modulate the resistance phenotype.
ER -