Phytoplasmas are uncultivable, phloem-limited, phytopathogenic bacteria that represent a major threat to agriculture worldwide. Phytoplasma membrane proteins are in direct contact with hosts and presumably play a crucial role in phytoplasma spread within the plant as well as by the insect vector. Three highly abundant types of immunodominant membrane proteins (IDP) have been identified within the phytoplasmas: immunodominant membrane protein (Imp), immunodominant membrane protein A (IdpA), and antigenic membrane protein (Amp). Although recent results indicate that Amp is involved in host specificity by interacting with host proteins such as actin, little is known about the pathogenicity of IDP in plants. In this study, we identified an antigenic membrane protein (Amp) of rice orange leaf phytoplasma (ROLP), which interacts with the actin of its vector. In addition, we generated Amp-transgenic lines of rice and expressed Amp in tobacco leaves by the potato virus X (PVX) expression system. Our results showed that the Amp of ROLP can induce the accumulation of ROLP and PVX in rice and tobacco plants, respectively. Although several studies have reported interactions between major phytoplasma antigenic membrane protein (Amp) and insect vector proteins, this example demonstrates that Amp protein can not only interact with the actin protein of its insect vector but can also directly inhibit host defense responses to promote the infection. The function of ROLP Amp provides new insights into the phytoplasma-host interaction.

Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a Fijivirus in the Reoviridae family, is transmitted by the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera, WBPH), a long-distance migratory insect, and presents a serious threat to rice production in Asia. It was first discovered in China’s Guangdong Province in 2001 and has been endemic in the south of China and north of Vietnam for two decades, with serious outbreaks in 2009, 2010, and 2017. In this study, we evaluated the resistance of 10 dominant rice varieties from southern China, where the virus overwinters and accumulates as a source of early spring reinfection, against this virus by artificial inoculation. The results showed that in all tested varieties there was no immune resistance, but there were differences in the infection rate, with incidence rates from 21% to 90.7%, and in symptom severity, with plant weight loss from 66.71% to 91.20% and height loss from 34.1% to 65.06%. Additionally, and valuably, the virus titer and the insect vector virus acquisition potency from diseased plants were significantly different among the varieties: an over sixfold difference was determined between resistant and susceptible varieties, and there was a positive correlation between virus accumulation and insect vector virus acquisition. The results can provide a basis for the selection of rice varieties in southern China to reduce the damage of SRBSDV in this area and to minimize the reinfection source and epidemics of the virus in other rice-growing areas.