The incorporation of ribonucleic acid precursors in healthy and virus-infected plant cells

Replication of tobacco mosaic virus on endoplasmic reticulum and role of the cytoskeleton and virus movement protein in intracellular distribution of viral RNA

Little is known about the mechanisms of intracellular targeting of viral nucleic acids within infected cells. We used in situ hybridization to visualize the distribution of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) viral RNA (vRNA) in infected tobacco protoplasts. Immunostaining of the ER lumenal binding protein (BiP) concurrent with in situ hybridization revealed that vRNA colocalized with the ER, including perinuclear ER. At midstages of infection, vRNA accumulated in large irregular bodies associated with cytoplasmic filaments while at late stages, vRNA was dispersed throughout the cytoplasm and was associated with hair-like protrusions from the plasma membrane containing ER. TMV movement protein (MP) and replicase colocalized with vRNA, suggesting that viral replication and translation occur in the same subcellular sites. Immunostaining with tubulin provided evidence of colocalization of vRNA with microtubules, while disruption of the cytoskeleton with pharmacological agents produced severe changes in vRNA localization. Mutants of TMV lacking functional MP accumulated vRNA, but the distribution of vRNA was different from that observed in wild-type infection. MP was not required for association of vRNA with perinuclear ER, but was required for the formation of the large irregular bodies and association of vRNA with the hair-like protrusions.

Subcellular localization of tobacco mosaic virus minus strand RNA in infected protoplasts

Radioactive RNA probes were prepared which specifically hybridize with sequences complementary to 5' and 3' regions of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA. These probes were used in Northern hybridization to locate TMV-RNA minus strands in the subcellular fractions of infected tobacco protoplasts. When the protoplasts were lysed with Triton X-100, full-length minus strands were present in the cytoplasmic but not in the nuclear fraction. With mechanically broken protoplasts, the crude nuclear fraction (250 g pellet) contained small amount of minus strands which appeared to derive from unbroken protoplasts, but most of minus strands were recovered in a fraction sedimented between 250 and 2500 g, little if any being found in lighter fractions. The results indicate that TMV-RNA replicates in association with an extranuclear structure.

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HOST–PARASITE RELATIONS: XVIII. DISTRIBUTION OF TRITIUM-LABELLED CYTIDINE, URIDINE, AND LEUCINE IN WHEAT LEAVES INFECTED WITH THE STEM RUST FUNGUS

Wheat leaves were detached 6 days after inoculation with the stem rust fungus (Puccinia graminis var. tritici Erikss. and Henn.) and fed with tritiated leucine, cytidine, uridine, or thymidine. Mesophyll cells in infected zones incorporated more leucine into protein and more cytidine and uridine into RNA than did cells in adjacent uninfected tissue. Leucine, cytidine, and uridine were also heavily incorporated by fungal mycelium and developing uredospores. Grain counts over host nuclei in the infected zone were two to three-fold of those over nuclei in adjacent uninfected zones. There was no detectable incorporation of thymidinemethyl-3H into either the fungus or the host cells. The results are discussed.