Abstract
The recessive gene rymv-1 responsible for the high resistance of Oryza sativa cultivar Gigante to Rice yellow mottle virus (Sobemovirus) was overcome by the variant CI4* which emerged after serial inoculations of the non-resistance-breaking (nRB) isolate CI4. By comparison of the full-length sequences of CI4 and CI4*, we identified a non-synonymous mutation at position 1729 localised in the putative VPg domain and developed an assay based on this single nucleotide polymorphism. The mutation G1729T was detected as early as the first passage in resistant plants and was found in all subsequent passages. Neither reversion nor additional mutation were observed. The substitution G1729T introduced by mutagenesis in the VPg of an nRB infectious clone is sufficient to induce symptoms in non-inoculated leaves of cultivar Gigante. This is the first evidence that VPg is a virulence factor in plants with recessive resistance against viruses outside the family Potyviridae.