The pathogenicity factor of DNA virus interacts with Arabidopsis deubiquitinases UBP12/13 to promote viral infection.

Arabidopsis deubiquitinases UBP12 and UBP13 are hijacked by CaMV to promote viral infection by altering host chromatin modifications.

• Why it matters: Understanding how plant DNA viruses manipulate host immune regulators is crucial for developing resistant crops, as these viruses cause significant agricultural losses worldwide.
• What they did: The study used affinity purification-mass spectrometry and chromatin immunoprecipitation to show that CaMV P6 interacts with UBP12/13, with infection increasing UBP12 levels and ubp12/13 mutants showing enhanced resistance.
• The result: Findings suggest that UBP12/13 modulate histone modifications on viral promoters, and their targeting by viral factors may relieve epigenetic silencing, offering new strategies for engineering virus-resistant plants.