m^(6)A modification of plant virus enables host recognition by NMD factors in plants

N^(6)-methyladenosine(m^(6)A)is the most abundant eukaryotic mRNA modification and is involved in various biological processes.Increasing evidence has implicated that m^(6)Amodification is an important anti-viral defense mechanism in mammals and plants,but it is largely unknown how m^(6)Aregulates viral infection in plants.Here we report the dynamic changes and functional anatomy of m^(6)Ain Nicotiana benthamiana and Solanum lycopersicum during Pepino mosaic virus(PepMV)infection.m^(6)Amodification in the PepMV RNA genome is conserved in these two species.Overexpression of the m^(6)Awriters,mRNA adenosine methylase A(MTA),and HAKAI inhibit the PepMV RNA accumulation accompanied by increased viral m^(6)Amodifications,whereas deficiency of these writers decreases the viral RNA m^(6)Alevels but enhances virus infection.Further study reveals that the cytoplasmic YTH-domain family protein NbECT2A/2B/2C as m^(6)Areaders are involved in anti-viral immunity.Protein-protein interactions indicate that NbECT2A/2B/2C interact with nonsense-mediated mRNA decay(NMD)-related proteins,including NbUPF3 and NbSMG7,but not with NbUPF1.m^(6)Amodification-mediated restriction to PepMV infection is dependent on NMD-related factors.These findings provide new insights into the functionality of m^(6)Aanti-viral activity and reveal a distinct immune response that NMD factors recognize the m^(6)Areaders-viral m^(6)ARNA complex for viral RNA degradation to limit virus infection in plants.