N6-Methyladenosine RNA Modification Regulates Maize Resistance to Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus Infection

Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) is one of the main viruses causing significant losses in maize. N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) RNA modification has been proven to play important regulatory roles in plant development and stress response. In this study, we found that MCMV infection significantly up-regulated the m⁶A level in maize, and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were performed to investigate the distribution of m⁶A modified peaks and gene expression patterns in MCMV-infected maize plants. The results showed that 1325 differentially methylated genes (DMGs) and 47 differentially methylated and expressed genes (DMEGs) were identified and analyzed. Moreover, the results of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assays showed that ZmECT18 and ZmGST31 were required for MCMV infection, while silencing of ZmMTC, ZmSCI1 or ZmTIP1 significantly promoted MCMV infection in maize. Our findings provided novel insights into the regulatory roles of m⁶A modification in maize response to MCMV infection.