Analysis of rice stripe virus whole-gene expression in rice and in the small brown planthopper by real-time quantitative PCR

Rice stripe virus (RSV) is a typical member of the Tenuivirus genus, which is transmitted mainly by the small brown planthopper (SBPH) in a persistent, circulative-propagative manner. At present, expression levels of viral genes in rice and in SBPH remain unclear. In this study, we investigated RSV gene expression in RSV-infected rice tissues and in viruliferous SBPH using a sensitive and reliable real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) method. The results revealed that NS3 gene exhibited the highest abundant expression in both, rice plants and SBPH. Disease-specific protein (SP) gene was the only gene with highest expression in rice, but not in SBPH. The expression levels of other genes were lower than SP and approximately equal to each other in both, in rice and SBPH. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) in SBPH was present in a notably low level. Furthermore, our results also provided a basis for further investigation on how RSV coordinates its own gene expression in the interactions with its plant and insect hosts.