Autophagy plays an important role in plant-pathogen interactions. Several pathogens including viruses induce autophagy in plants, but the underpinning mechanism remains largely unclear. Furthermore, in virusplant interactions, viral factor(s) that induce autophagy have yet to be identified. Here, we report that the βC1 protein of Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMuB) interacts with cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPC), a negative autophagic regulator, to induce autophagy in Nicotiana benthamiana. CLCuMuB βC1 bound to GAPCs and disrupted the interaction between GAPCs and autophagyrelated protein 3 (ATG3). A mutant βC1 protein (βC1 3A) in which I45, Y48, and I53 were all substituted with alanine (A), had a dramatically reduced binding capacity with GAPCs, failed to disrupt the GAPCs-ATG3 interactions and failed to induce autophagy. Furthermore, mutant virus carrying βC1 3A showed increased symptoms and viral DNA accumulation associated with decreased autophagy in plants. These results suggest that CLCuMuB βC1 activates autophagy by disrupting GAPCs-ATG3 interactions.