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The completion of the genome sequencing of the Arabidopsis thaliana model system provided a powerful molecular tool for comparative analysis of gene families present in the genome of economically relevant plant species. In this investigation, we used the sequences of the Arabidopsis Hsp70 gene family to identify and annotate the Citrus Hsp70 genes represented in the CitEST database. Based on sequence comparison analysis, we identified 18 clusters that were further divided into 5 subgroups encoding four mitochondrial mtHsp70s, three plastid csHsp70s, one ER luminal Hsp70 BiP, two HSP110/SSE-related proteins and eight cytosolic Hsp/Hsc70s. We also analyzed the expression profile by digital Northern of each Hsp70 transcript in different organs and in response to stress conditions. The EST database revealed a distinct population distribution of Hsp70 ESTs among isoforms and across the organs surveyed. The Hsp70-5 isoform was highly expressed in seeds, whereas BiP, mitochondrial and plastid HSp70 mRNAs displayed a similar expression profile in the organs analyzed, and were predominantly represented in flowers. Distinct Hsp70 mRNAs were also differentially expressed during Xylella infection and Citrus tristeza viral infection as well as during water deficit. This in silico study sets the groundwork for future investigations to fully characterize functionally the Citrus Hsp70 family and underscores the relevance of Hsp70s in response to abiotic and biotic stresses in Citrus.

Abstract Due to the limited coding capacity of viral genomes, plant viruses depend extensively on the host cell machinery to support the viral life cycle and, thereby, interact with a large number of host proteins during infection. Within this context, as plant viruses do not harbor translation-required components, they have developed several strategies to subvert the host protein synthesis machinery to produce rapidly and efficiently the viral proteins. As a countermeasure against infection, plants have evolved defense mechanisms that impair viral infections. Among them, the host-mediated translational suppression has been characterized as an efficient mean to restrict infection. To specifically suppress translation of viral mRNAs, plants can deploy susceptible recessive resistance genes, which encode translation initiation factors from the eIF4E and eIF4G family and are required for viral mRNA translation and multiplication. Additionally, recent evidence has demonstrated that, alternatively to the cleavage of viral RNA targets, host cells can suppress viral protein translation to silence viral RNA. Finally, a novel strategy of plant antiviral defense based on suppression of host global translation, which is mediated by the transmembrane immune receptor NIK1 (nuclear shuttle protein (NSP)-Interacting Kinase1), is discussed in this review.