Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses of Myzus persicae Carrying Brassica Yellows Virus

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Brassica yellows virus (BrYV) transmitted by the green peach aphid belongs to the genus Polerovirus and mostly damages the crucifer crops in East Asia. To reveal the networks of aphid gene response to BrYV stress, comparative transcriptome and proteome approaches were performed to identify significantly putative regulators involved in BrYV stress. Based on the results of RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) coupled with quantitative proteomic analysis on BrYV-carrying and BrYV-free aphids, 1266 differently expressed genes (980 upregulated and 286 downregulated DEGs) and 18 differently expressed proteins (12 upregulated and 6 downregulated DEPs) were identified in BrYV-carrying aphids. Enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs and DEPs were primarily involved in epidermal protein synthesis, phosphorylation, and various metabolic processes. Interestingly, the expressions of a number of cuticle proteins and tubulins were substantially upregulated in viruliferous aphids. To sum up, these findings provide a crucial clue for screening key vector factors involved in the process of virus circulation in aphids and exploring the molecular mechanism of transmission of BrYV by the green peach aphid. ABSTRACT: Viruses in the genus Polerovirus infect a wide range of crop plants and cause severe economic crop losses. BrYV belongs to the genus Polerovirus and is transmitted by Myzus persicae. However, the changes in transcriptome and proteome profiles of M. persicae during viral infection are unclear. Here, RNA-Seq and TMT-based quantitative proteomic analysis were performed to compare the differences between viruliferous and nonviruliferous aphids. In total, 1266 DEGs were identified at the level of transcription with 980 DEGs being upregulated and 286 downregulated in viruliferous aphids. At the protein level, among the 18 DEPs identified, the number of upregulated proteins in viruliferous aphids was twice that of the downregulated DEPs. Enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs and DEPs were mainly involved in epidermal protein synthesis, phosphorylation, and various metabolic processes. Interestingly, the expressions of a number of cuticle proteins and tubulins were upregulated in viruliferous aphids. Taken together, our study revealed the complex regulatory network between BrYV and its vector M. persicae from the perspective of omics. These findings should be of great benefit to screening key factors involved in the process of virus circulation in aphids and provide new insights for BrYV prevention via vector control in the field.