Antiviral agent fTDP stimulates the SA signaling pathway and enhances tobacco defense against tobacco mosaic virus

TEER-decreasing protein (TDP) from Flammulina velutipes was antiviral resource against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). However, the resistance mechanisms have not been clarified. In this study, the fTDP (fusion teerdecreasing protein), obtained by prokaryotic fusion expression system, exhibited obvious protective efficacy against TMV and significantly suppressed the reproduction of TMV in tobacco. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis showed that fTDP may interact with a receptor, activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and NB-ARC and increase the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and salicylic acid (SA), which promoted the hypersensitive response (HR) and system acquired resistance (SAR). SAR caused increased expression of catalase (CAT), pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and other proteins involved in pathogen defense, such as chalcone-dihydroflavone isomerase (CHI) and cytochrome P450. In conclusion, SAR was induced by fTDP to protect tobacco from TMV infection and alleviate the symptoms caused by the virus. The study provided a theoretical basis for the application of the TDP protein, which may represent a potential biopesticide.