A simple method for screening of plant NBS-LRR genes that confer a hypersensitive response to plant viruses and its application for screening candidate pepper genes against Pepper mottle virus

•We developed a method for screening of plant NBS-LRR genes that confer a HR.•The transient expression of the R gene induced local HR upon infection of virus.•Transcribed viral RNA can be used as an alternative to viral sap for HR induction.•An R gene that confers HR to the potyvirus Pepper mottle virus was identified. Plant NBS-LRR genes are abundant and have been increasingly cloned from plant genomes. In this study, a method based on agroinfiltration and virus inoculation was developed for the simple and inexpensive screening of candidate R genes that confer a hypersensitive response to plant viruses. The well-characterized resistance genes Rx and N, which confer resistance to Potato virus X (PVX) and tobamovirus, respectively, were used to optimize a transient expression assay for detection of hypersensitive response in Nicotiana benthamiana. Infectious sap of PVX and Tobacco mosaic virus were used to induce hypersensitive response in Rx- and N-infiltrated leaves, respectively. The transient expression of the N gene induced local hypersensitive response upon infection of another tobamovirus, Pepper mild mottle virus, through both sap and transcript inoculation. When this method was used to screen 99 candidate R genes from pepper, an R gene that confers hypersensitive response to the potyvirus Pepper mottle virus was identified. The method will be useful for the identification of plant R genes that confer resistance to viruses.