Uncoupling resistance from cell death in the hypersensitive response of Nicotiana species to cauliflower mosaic virus infection.
(25/230)
Cauliflower mosaic virus strain W260 elicits a hypersensitive response (HR) in leaves of Nicotiana edwardsonii, an interspecific hybrid derived from a cross between N. glutinosa and N. clevelandii. Interestingly, we found that N. glutinosa is resistant to W260, but responds with local chlorotic lesions rather than necrotic lesions. In contrast, N. clevelandii responds to W260 with systemic cell death. The reactions of the progenitors of N. edwardsonii to W260 infection indicated that each contributed a factor toward the development of HR. In this study, we present two lines of evidence to show that the resistance and cell death that comprise the HR elicited by W260 can indeed be uncoupled. First, we showed that the non-necrotic resistance response of N. glutinosa could be converted to HR when these plants were crossed with N. clevelandii. Second, we found that cell death and resistance segregated independently in the F2 population of a cross between N. edwardsonii and N. clevelandii. We concluded that the resistance of N. edwardsonii to W260 infection was conditioned by a gene derived from N. glutinosa, whereas cell death was conditioned by a gene derived from N. clevelandii. An analysis of pathogenesis-related (PR) protein expression in response to W260 infection revealed that elicitation of PR proteins was associated with resistance rather than with the onset of cell death. (+info)
Replicating satellite RNA induces sequence-specific DNA methylation and truncated transcripts in plants.
(26/230)
Tobacco plants were transformed with a chimeric transgene comprising sequences encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and the satellite RNA (satRNA) of cereal yellow dwarf luteovirus. When transgenic plants were infected with potato leafroll luteovirus (PLRV), which replicated the transgene-derived satRNA to a high level, the satellite sequence of the GUS:Sat transgene became densely methylated. Within the satellite region, all 86 cytosines in the upper strand and 73 of the 75 cytosines in the lower strand were either partially or fully methylated. In contrast, very low levels of DNA methylation were detected in the satellite sequence of the transgene in uninfected plants and in the flanking nonsatellite sequences in both infected and uninfected plants. Substantial amounts of truncated GUS:Sat RNA accumulated in the satRNA-replicating plants, and most of the molecules terminated at nucleotides within the first 60 bp of the satellite sequence. Whereas this RNA truncation was associated with high levels of satRNA replication, it appeared to be independent of the levels of DNA methylation in the satellite sequence, suggesting that it is not caused by methylation. All the sequenced GUS:Sat DNA molecules were hypermethylated in plants with replicating satRNA despite the phloem restriction of the helper PLRV. Also, small, sense and antisense approximately 22 nt RNAs, derived from the satRNA, were associated with the replicating satellite. These results suggest that the sequence-specific DNA methylation spread into cells in which no satRNA replication occurred and that this was mediated by the spread of unamplified satRNA and/or its associated 22 nt RNA molecules. (+info)
Genes Ia, II, III, IV and V of Soybean chlorotic mottle virus are essential but the gene Ib product is non-essential for systemic infection.
(27/230)
Soybean chlorotic mottle virus (SbCMV) is the type species of the genus 'Soybean chlorotic mottle-like viruses', within the family Caulimoviridae. The double-stranded DNA genome of SbCMV (8178 bp) contains eight major open reading frames (ORFs). Viral genes essential and non-essential for the replication and movement of SbCMV were investigated by mutational analysis of an infectious 1.3-mer DNA clone. The results indicated that ORFs Ia, II, III, IV and V were essential for systemic infection. The product of ORF Ib was non-essential, although the putative tRNA(Met) primer-binding site in ORF Ib was proved to be essential. Immunoselection PCR revealed that an ORF Ia deletion mutant was encapsidated in primarily infected cells, indicating that ORF Ia is required for virus movement but not for replication. ORF IV was confirmed to encode a capsid protein by peptide sequencing of the capsid. Analysis of the viral transcripts showed that the SbCMV DNA genome gives rise to a pregenomic RNA and an ORF VI mRNA, as shown in the case of Cauliflower mosaic virus. (+info)
Mutational analysis of the proteinase function of Potato leafroll virus.
(28/230)
cDNA expression vectors of Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) were used to analyse specific mutations in the proteinase and replicase domains of the proteins encoded by ORF1 and ORF2. Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer was used to introduce a PLRV RNA expression unit, controlled by the 35S promoter of Cauliflower mosaic virus, into potato leaf cells. Expression of unmodified PLRV cDNA led to the replication of viral genomic and subgenomic RNAs and accumulation of the viral capsid protein, whereas alteration of amino acids GDD513-515 of the replicase to VHD abolished PLRV replication. Mutations in the presumed H-D-S catalytic triad of the viral proteinase abolished the formation of viral genomic and subgenomic RNAs as well as synthesis of the viral capsid protein. Co-agroinoculation of the GDD mutant along with any of the proteinase mutants restored virus replication in leaf discs, showing that these mutants are able to complement each other. Moreover, mutation of the postulated serine residue of the catalytic triad of the proteinase altered the pattern of proteins synthesized in vitro in comparison to wild-type, further supporting the relevance of the H-D-S motif. (+info)
Transcription factor RF2a alters expression of the rice tungro bacilliform virus promoter in transgenic tobacco plants.
(29/230)
The promoter from rice tungro bacilliform badnavirus (RTBV) is expressed only in phloem tissues in transgenic rice plants. RF2a, a b-Zip protein from rice, is known to bind to the Box II cis element near the TATA box of the promoter. Here, we report that the full-length RTBV promoter and a truncated fragment E of the promoter, comprising nucleotides -164 to +45, result in phloem-specific expression of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter genes in transgenic tobacco plants. When a fusion gene comprising the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and RF2a cDNA was coexpressed with the GUS reporter genes, GUS activity was increased by 2-20-fold. The increase in GUS activity was positively correlated with the amount of RF2a, and the expression pattern of the RTBV promoter was altered from phloem-specific to constitutive. Constitutive expression of RF2a did not induce morphological changes in the transgenic plants. In contrast, constitutive overexpression of the b-ZIP domain of RF2a had a strong effect on the development of transgenic plants. These studies suggest that expression of the b-Zip domain can interfere with the function of homologues of RF2a that regulate development of tobacco plants. (+info)
Characterization of position-induced spatial and temporal regulation of transgene promoter activity in plants.
(30/230)
Quantitative differences in transgene expression between independent transformants are generally ascribed to different integration sites of the transgene (position effect). The contribution of spatial and temporal changes in transgene promoter activity to these position-induced differences in transgene expression in planta are characterized, using the firefly luciferase (luc) reporter system. The activity of three different promoters (Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) 35S, modified CaMV 35S and the promoter of an Arabidopsis thaliana Lipid Transfer Protein gene) was shown to vary not only among independent transformants, but also between leaves on the same plant and within a leaf. The differences in local LUC activity between leaves and within a leaf correlated with differences in local luc mRNA steady-state levels. Imaging of LUC activity in the same leaves over a 50 d period, shows that individual transformants can show different types of temporal regulation. Both the spatial and the temporal type of luc transgene expression pattern are inherited by the next generation. It is concluded that previously reported position-induced quantitative differences in transgene expression are probably an accumulated effect of differences in spatial and temporal regulation of transgene promoter activity. (+info)
Tetramerization is a conserved feature of the virion-associated protein in plant pararetroviruses.
(31/230)
All plant pararetroviruses belong to the Caulimoviridae family. This family contains six genera of viruses with different biological, serological, and molecular characteristics. Although some important mechanisms of viral replication and host infection are understood, much remains to be discovered about the many functions of the viral proteins. The focus of this study, the virion-associated protein (VAP), is conserved among all members of the group and contains a coiled-coil structure that has been shown to assemble as a tetramer in the case of cauliflower mosaic virus. We have used the yeast two-hybrid system to characterize self-association of the VAPs of four distinct plant pararetroviruses, each belonging to a different genus of Caulimoviridae. Chemical cross-linking confirmed that VAPs assemble into tetramers. Tetramerization is thus a common property of these proteins in plant pararetroviruses. The possible implications of this conserved feature for VAP function are discussed. (+info)
Effects of movement protein mutations on the formation of tubules in plant protoplasts expressing a fusion between the green fluorescent protein and Cauliflower mosaic virus movement protein.
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Fusions between the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) movement protein (MP) induce the formation of fluorescent foci and surface tubules in Arabidopsis thaliana leaf mesophyll protoplasts. Tubules elongate coordinately and progressively in an assembly process approximately 6 to 12 h following transfection of protoplasts with GFP-MP constructs. Tubules are not formed in protoplasts transfected by GFP-MP(ER2A), a MP mutation that renders CaMV noninfectious. A small number of short tubules are formed on protoplasts transfected by GFP-MP(N6) and GFP-MP(N13), two second-site revertants of ER2A that partially restore infectivity. Protoplasts cotransfected with cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)-MP(WT) and GFP-MP(ER2A) form tubules containing both MP fusions, indicating that although the GFP-MP(ER2A) cannot induce tubule formation, GFP-MP(ER2A) can coassemble or colocalize with CFP-MP(WT) in tubules. Thus, CaMV MP-induced tubule formation in protoplasts correlates closely with the infectivity of mutation ER2A and its revertants, suggesting that tubule-forming capacity in plant protoplasts reflects a process required for virus infection or movement. (+info)