Role of capsid proteins

The N-Terminal Region of Cucumber Mosaic Virus 2a Protein Is Involved in the Systemic Infection in Brassica juncea

Brassica juncea belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is used as both an oilseed and vegetable crop. As only a few studies have reported on the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in B. juncea, we conducted this study to provide a basic understanding of the B. juncea and CMV interactions. B. juncea-infecting CMV (CMV-Co6) and non-infecting CMV (CMV-Rs1) were used. To identify the determinants of systemic infection in B. juncea, we first constructed infectious clones of CMV-Co6 and CMV-Rs1 and used them as pseudo-recombinants. RNA2 of CMV was identified as an important determinant in B. juncea because B. juncea were systemically infected with RNA2-containing pseudo-recombinants; CMV-Co6, R/6/R, and R/6/6 were systemically infected B. juncea. Subsequently, the amino acids of the 2a and 2b proteins were compared, and a chimeric clone was constructed. The chimeric virus R/6Rns/R6cp, containing the C-terminal region of the 2a protein of CMV-Rs1, still infects B. juncea. It is the 2a protein that determines the systemic CMV infection in B. juncea, suggesting that conserved 160G and 214A may play a role in systemic CMV infection in B. juncea.

Phytotoxicity and Other Adverse Effects on the In Vitro Shoot Cultures Caused by Virus Elimination Treatments: Reasons and Solutions

In general, in vitro virus elimination is based on the culture of isolated meristem, and in addition thermotherapy, chemotherapy, electrotherapy, and cryotherapy can also be applied. During these processes, plantlets suffer several stresses, which can result in low rate of survival, inhibited growth, incomplete development, or abnormal morphology. Even though the in vitro cultures survive the treatment, further development can be inhibited; thus, regeneration capacity of treated in vitro shoots or explants play also an important role in successful virus elimination. Sensitivity of genotypes to treatments is very different, and the rate of destruction largely depends on the physiological condition of plants as well. Exposure time of treatments affects the rate of damage in almost every therapy. Other factors such as temperature, illumination (thermotherapy), type and concentration of applied chemicals (chemo- and cryotherapy), and electric current intensity (electrotherapy) also may have a great impact on the rate of damage. However, there are several ways to decrease the harmful effect of treatments. This review summarizes the harmful effects of virus elimination treatments applied on tissue cultures reported in the literature. The aim of this review is to expound the solutions that can be used to mitigate phytotoxic and other adverse effects in practice.

Nanovirus Disease Complexes: An Emerging Threat in the Modern Era

Multipartite viruses package their genomic segments independently and mainly infect plants; few target animals. Nanoviridae is a family of multipartite single-stranded DNA plant viruses that individually encapsidate single-stranded DNAs of approximately 1 kb and transmit them through aphids without replication in the aphid vectors, thereby causing important diseases of leguminous crops and banana. Significant findings regarding nanoviruses have recently been made on important features, such as their multicellular way of life, the transmission of distinct encapsidated genome segments through the vector body, evolutionary ambiguities, mode of infection, host range and geographical distribution. This review deals with all the above-mentioned features in view of recent advances with special emphasis on the emergence of new species and recognition of new host range of nanoviruses and aims to shed light on the evolutionary linkages, the potentially devastating impact on the world economy, and the future challenges imposed by nanoviruses.

Distinct replication and gene expression strategies of the Rice Stripe virus in vector insects and host plants

Persistent propagative plant viruses are usually transmitted between a vector insect and a host plant. To adapt to the two different organisms, viruses may show distinct genomic replication or gene expression patterns. To verify this hypothesis, we applied an aboslute real-time quantitative PCR method to measure and compare the replication levels of four genomic RNA segments and the expression levels of seven genes of rice stripe virus (RSV) according to the infection time in the small brown planthopper and rice plant, respectively. In the vector insect, RNA3 began replicating later than the other segments, and RNA2 remained nearly constant during the infection process. RNA1 was the dominant segment, and a difference of over 300-fold appeared among the four segments. In rice plants, the size of the four segments increased with infection time, but decreased to a low level in the late infection period. The ratios of the four segments varied by no more than 15-fold. In planthoppers, three expression patterns were observed for the seven viral genes during viral infection, while in rice plants, the expression patterns of the seven viral genes were similar. These results reflect distinct genomic replication and gene expression patterns in a persistent propagative plant virus in adapting to vector insects and host plants.

Dissecting the Subcellular Localization, Intracellular Trafficking, Interactions, Membrane Association, and Topology of Citrus Leprosis Virus C Proteins

Citrus leprosis (CL) is a re-emergent viral disease affecting citrus crops in the Americas, and citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C), belonging to the genus Cilevirus, is the main pathogen responsible for the disease. Despite the economic importance of CL to the citrus industry, very little is known about the performance of viral proteins. Here, we present a robust in vivo study around functionality of p29, p15, p61, MP, and p24 CiLV-C proteins in the host cells. The intracellular sub-localization of all those viral proteins in plant cells are shown, and their co-localization with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi complex (GC) (p15, MP, p61 and p24), actin filaments (p29, p15 and p24), nucleus (p15), and plasmodesmata (MP) are described. Several features are disclosed, including i) ER remodeling and redistribution of GC apparatus, ii) trafficking of the p29 and MP along the ER network system, iii) self-interaction of the p29, p15, and p24 and hetero-association between p29-p15, p29-MP, p29-p24, and p15-MP proteins in vivo. We also showed that all proteins are associated with biological membranes; whilst p15 is peripherally associated, p29, p24, and MP are integrally bound to cell membranes. Furthermore, while p24 exposes an N-cytoplasm-C-lumen topology, p29, and p15 are oriented toward the cytoplasmic face of the biological membrane. Based on our findings, we discuss the possible performance of each protein in the context of infection and a hypothetical model encompassing the virus spread and sites for replication and particle assembly is suggested.

Exogenously applied dsRNA molecules deriving from the Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) genome move systemically and protect cucurbits against ZYMV

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) causes serious damage in a large number of cucurbits, and control measures are necessary. Transgenic cucurbits expressing parts of the ZYMV genome have been shown to be resistant to the cognate virus. A non-transgenic approach involving the exogenous application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has also been shown to induce resistance in tobacco against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). In the present study, dsRNA molecules derived from the helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro) and coat protein (CP) genes of the ZYMV_DE_2014 isolate were produced in vitro. On exogenous dsRNA application in cucumber, watermelon and squash plants, dsRNA HC-Pro conferred resistance of 82%, 50% and 18%, and dsRNA CP molecules of 70%, 43% and 16%, respectively. On deep sequencing analysis of ZYMV-infected watermelon, hot-spot regions for viral small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) in the genome of ZYMV were identified. Stem-loop reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection of selected 21-nucleotide-long vsiRNAs in plants that received only dsRNA molecules suggested that the dsRNAs exogenously applied onto plants were successfully diced, thus initiating RNA silencing. dsRNA molecules were found to be progressively degraded in planta, and strongly detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR for at least 9 days after exogenous application. Moreover, dsRNA molecules were detected in systemic tissue of watermelon and squash, showing that dsRNA is transported long distances in these plants.

Modulation of host plant immunity by Tobamovirus proteins

BACKGROUND

To establish successful infection, plant viruses produce profound alterations of host physiology, disturbing unrelated endogenous processes and contributing to the development of disease. In tobamoviruses, emerging evidence suggests that viral-encoded proteins display a great variety of functions beyond the canonical roles required for virus structure and replication. Among these, their modulation of host immunity appears to be relevant in infection progression.

SCOPE

In this review, some recently described effects on host plant physiology of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-encoded proteins, namely replicase, movement protein (MP) and coat protein (CP), are summarized. The discussion is focused on the effects of each viral component on the modulation of host defense responses, through mechanisms involving hormonal imbalance, innate immunity modulation and antiviral RNA silencing. These effects are described taking into consideration the differential spatial distribution and temporality of viral proteins during the dynamic process of replication and spread of the virus.

CONCLUSION

In discussion of these mechanisms, it is shown that both individual and combined effects of viral-encoded proteins contribute to the development of the pathogenesis process, with the host plant's ability to control infection to some extent potentially advantageous to the invading virus.

Dynamic Virus-Dependent Subnuclear Localization of the Capsid Protein from a Geminivirus

Viruses are intracellular parasites with a nucleic acid genome and a proteinaceous capsid. Viral capsids are formed of at least one virus-encoded capsid protein (CP), which is often multifunctional, playing additional non-structural roles during the infection cycle. In animal viruses, there are examples of differential localization of CPs associated to the progression of the infection and/or enabled by other viral proteins; these changes in the distribution of CPs may ultimately regulate the involvement of these proteins in different viral functions. In this work, we analyze the subcellular localization of a GFP- or RFP-fused CP from the plant virus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV; Fam. Geminiviridae) in the presence or absence of the virus upon transient expression in the host plants Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato. Our findings show that, in agreement with previous reports, when the CP is expressed alone it localizes mainly in the nucleolus and weakly in the nucleoplasm. Interestingly, the presence of the virus causes the sequential re-localization of the CP outside of the nucleolus and into discrete nuclear foci and, eventually, into an uneven distribution in the nucleoplasm. Expression of the viral replication-associated protein, Rep, is sufficient to exclude the CP from the nucleolus, but the localization of the CP in the characteristic patterns induced by the virus cannot be recapitulated by co-expression with any individual viral protein. Our results demonstrate that the subcellular distribution of the CP is a dynamic process, temporally regulated throughout the progression of the infection. The regulation of the localization of the CP is determined by the presence of other viral components or changes in the cellular environment induced by the virus, and is likely to contribute to the multifunctionality of this protein. Bearing in mind these observations, we suggest that viral proteins should be studied in the context of the infection and considering the temporal dimension in order to comprehensively understand their roles and effects in the interaction between virus and host.

Generation of an Attenuated, Cross-Protective Pepino mosaic virus Variant Through Alignment-Guided Mutagenesis of the Viral Capsid Protein

Mild variants of many viruses are able to protect infected plants from subsequent invasion by more severe variants of the same viruses through a process known as cross-protection. In the past, the cross-protective viral variants were commonly derived from mild field isolates that were sometimes genetically heterogeneous, providing variable levels of cross-protection. Here, we report a novel approach to rapidly generate cross-protective variants of the tomato-infecting Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) independently of the availability of mild field isolates. Our approach sought to attenuate PepMV by mutating less conserved amino acid residues of the abundantly produced capsid protein (CP). These less-conserved amino acid residues were identified through multiple alignments of CPs of six potexviruses including PepMV, and were altered systematically to yield six PepMV mutants. These mutants were subsequently inoculated onto the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana, as well as tomato, to evaluate their accumulation levels, symptom severities, and cross-protection potentials. The mutant KD, in which the threonine (T) and alanine (A) residues at CP positions 66 and 67 were replaced with lysine (K) and aspartic acid (D), respectively, were found to accumulate to low levels in infected plants, cause very mild symptoms, and effectively protect both N. benthamiana and tomato against secondary infections by wild-type PepMV. These data suggest that our approach represents a simple, fast, and reliable way of generating attenuated viral variants capable of cross-protection.

Non-encapsidation activities of the capsid proteins of positive-strand RNA viruses

Viral capsid proteins (CPs) are characterized by their role in forming protective shells around viral genomes. However, CPs have additional and important roles in the virus infection cycles and in the cellular responses to infection. These activities involve CP binding to RNAs in both sequence-specific and nonspecific manners as well as association with other proteins. This review focuses on CPs of both plant and animal-infecting viruses with positive-strand RNA genomes. We summarize the structural features of CPs and describe their modulatory roles in viral translation, RNA-dependent RNA synthesis, and host defense responses.

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We review regulatory activities of the capsid proteins of (+)-strand RNA viruses.

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Activities of capsid proteins due to RNA binding and protein binding.

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Effects of capsid proteins on viral processes.

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Effects of capsid proteins on cellular processes.

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Regulatory activities of the capsid proteins are affected by capsid concentrations.

Systemic transport of Alfalfa mosaic virus can be mediated by the movement proteins of several viruses assigned to five genera of the 30K family

We previously showed that the movement protein (MP) gene of Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) is functionally exchangeable for the cell-to-cell transport of the corresponding genes of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Brome mosaic virus, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus, Cucumber mosaic virus and Cowpea mosaic virus. We have analysed the capacity of the heterologous MPs to systemically transport the corresponding chimeric AMV genome. All MPs were competent in systemic transport but required the fusion at their C terminus of the coat protein-interacting C-terminal 44 aa (A44) of the AMV MP. Except for the TMV MP, the presence of the hybrid virus in upper leaves correlated with the capacity to move locally. These results suggest that all the MPs assigned to the 30K superfamily should be exchangeable not only for local virus movement but also for systemic transport when the A44 fragment is present.

The Red clover necrotic mosaic virus capsid protein N-terminal lysine-rich motif is a determinant of symptomatology and virion accumulation

The interaction between viral capsid protein (CP) and its cognate viral RNA modulates many steps in the virus infection cycle, such as replication, translation and assembly. The N-terminal 50 amino acids of the Red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV) CP are rich in basic residues (especially lysine) and are essential for the core functions of the CP, namely RNA binding and virion assembly. To further elucidate additional biological roles for these basic residues, a series of alanine substitution mutations was introduced into infectious clones of RCNMV RNA-1 and assayed for symptomatology, virion formation and systemic infection. Infectivity assays conducted in Nicotiana benthamiana revealed that all nine alanine substitution mutants (ASMs) were competent for systemic infection. Two ASMs (K4A and K7A/K8A) induced severe symptoms and delayed the systemic spread of viral genomes when compared with wild-type RCNMV. However, these ASMs were still competent for virion formation. Three other ASMs (K25A, K33A and K38A) displayed milder symptoms and significant reductions in virion accumulation when compared with wild-type RCNMV, but retained the ability to spread systemically. Evidence from these last three ASMs, as well as a CP null mutant, showed that RCNMV is able to move systemically in N. benthamiana as a nonvirion form. These observations reaffirm the necessity of the N-terminal lysine-rich residues of the RCNMV CP for efficient virion accumulation. They also reveal additional roles for the CP in the modulation of host symptomatology, independent of its role in virion assembly and the rate of systemic viral movement in N. benthamiana.

Subcellular localization and rearrangement of endoplasmic reticulum by Brome mosaic virus capsid protein

Genome packaging in the plant-infecting Brome mosaic virus (BMV), a member of the alphavirus-like superfamily, as well as in other positive-strand RNA viruses pathogenic to humans (e.g., poliovirus) and animals (e.g., Flock House virus), is functionally coupled to replication. Although the subcellular localization site of BMV replication has been identified, that of the capsid protein (CP) has remained elusive. In this study, the application of immunofluorescence confocal microscopy to Nicotiana benthamiana leaves expressing replication-derived BMV CP as a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion, in conjunction with antibodies to the CP and double-stranded RNA, a presumed marker of RNA replication, revealed that the subcellular localization sites of replication and CP overlap. Our temporal analysis by transmission electron microscopy of ultrastructural modifications induced in BMV-infected N. benthamiana leaves revealed a reticulovesicular network of modified endoplasmic reticulum (ER) incorporating large assemblies of vesicles derived from ER accumulated in the cytoplasm during BMV infection. Additionally, for the first time, we have found by ectopic expression experiments that BMV CP itself has the intrinsic property of modifying ER to induce vesicles similar to those present in BMV infections. The significance of CP-induced vesicles in relation to CP-organized viral functions that are linked to replication-coupled packaging is discussed.