Frameshift mutations in infectious cDNA clones of Citrus tristeza virus: a strategy to minimize the toxicity of viral sequences to Escherichia coli

Insights into the Pathogenesis and Development of Recombinant Japanese Encephalitis Virus Genotype 3 as a Vaccine

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, has caused epidemics and severe neurological diseases in Asian countries. In this study, we developed a cDNA infectious clone, pBAC JYJEV3, of the JEV genotype 3 strain (EF571853.1) using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) vector. The constructed infectious clone was transfected into Vero cells, where it exhibited infectivity and induced cytopathic effects akin to those of the parent virus. Confocal microscopy confirmed the expression of the JEV envelope protein. Comparative analysis of growth kinetics revealed similar replication dynamics between the parental and recombinant viruses, with peak titers observed 72 h post-infection (hpi). Furthermore, plaque assays demonstrated comparable plaque sizes and morphologies between the viruses. Cryo-electron microscopy confirmed the production of recombinant virus particles with a morphology identical to that of the parent virus. Immunization studies in mice using inactivated parental and recombinant viruses revealed robust IgG responses, with neutralizing antibody production increasing over time. These results showcase the successful generation and characterization of a recombinant JEV3 virus and provide a platform for further investigations into JEV pathogenesis and vaccine development.

Engineering of stable infectious cDNA constructs of a fluorescently tagged tomato chlorosis virus

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) is an emerging pathogen that cause severe yellow leaf disorder syndrome in tomato plants. In this study, we aimed to generate a recombinant ToCV tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) to enable real-time monitoring of viral infection in living plants. Transformation of the full-length cDNA construct of ToCV RNA1 into Escherichia coli resulted in instability issues, which were successfully overcome by inserting a plant intron into RNA1. Subsequently, a GFP tag was engineered into a cDNA construct of ToCV RNA2. The resulting recombinant ToCV-GFP could systemically infect Nicotiana benthamiana plants, and GFP expression was observed along the major veins. Utilizing ToCV-GFP, we also showed that ToCV engages in antagonistic relationships with two different tomato-infecting viruses in mixed infections in N. benthamiana. This study demonstrates the potential of ToCV-GFP as a valuable tool for the visual tracking of infection and movement of criniviruses in living plants.

Harnessing plant viruses in the metagenomics era: from the development of infectious clones to applications

Recent metagenomic studies which focused on virus characterization in the entire plant environment have revealed a remarkable viral diversity in plants. The exponential discovery of viruses also requires the concomitant implementation of high-throughput methods to perform their functional characterization. Despite several limitations, the development of viral infectious clones remains a method of choice to understand virus biology, their role in the phytobiome, and plant resilience. Here, we review the latest approaches for efficient characterization of plant viruses and technical advances built on high-throughput sequencing and synthetic biology to streamline assembly of viral infectious clones. We then discuss the applications of plant viral vectors in fundamental and applied plant research as well as their technical and regulatory limitations, and we propose strategies for their safer field applications.

Silencing Transcription from an Influenza Reverse Genetics Plasmid in E. coli Enhances Gene Stability

Reverse genetics (RG) systems have been instrumental for determining the molecular aspects of viral replication, pathogenesis, and for the development of therapeutics. Here, we demonstrate that genes encoding the influenza surface antigens hemagglutinin and neuraminidase have varying stability when cloned into a common RG plasmid and transformed into Escherichia coli. Using GFP as a reporter, we demonstrate that E. coli expresses the target genes in the RG plasmid at low levels. Incorporating lac operators or a transcriptional terminator into the plasmid reduced expression and stabilized the viral genes to varying degrees. Sandwiching the viral gene between two lac operators provided the largest contribution to stability and we confirmed the stabilization is Lac repressor-dependent and crucial for subsequent plasmid propagations in E. coli. Viruses rescued from the lac operator-stabilized plasmid displayed similar kinetics and titers to the original plasmid in two different viral backbones. Together, these results indicate that silencing transcription from the plasmid in E. coli helps to maintain the correct influenza gene sequence and that the lac operator addition does not impair virus production. It is envisaged that sandwiching DNA segments between lac operators can be used for reducing DNA segment instability in any plasmid that is propagated in E. coli which express the Lac repressor.

A cowpea severe mosaic virus-based vector simplifies virus-induced gene silencing and foreign protein expression in soybean

BACKGROUND

Soybean gene functions cannot be easily interrogated through transgenic disruption (knock-out) of genes-of-interest, or transgenic overexpression of proteins-of-interest, because soybean transformation is time-consuming and technically challenging. An attractive alternative is to administer transient gene silencing or overexpression with a plant virus-based vector. However, existing virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and/or overexpression vectors suitable for soybean have various drawbacks that hinder their widespread adoption.

RESULTS

We describe the development of a new vector based on cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV), a plus-strand RNA virus with its genome divided into two RNA segments, RNA1 and RNA2. This vector, designated FZ, incorporates a cloning site in the RNA2 cDNA, permitting insertion of nonviral sequences. When paired with an optimized RNA1 construct, FZ readily infects both Nicotiana benthamiana and soybean. As a result, FZ constructs destined for soybean can be first delivered to N. benthamiana in order to propagate the modified viruses to high titers. FZ-based silencing constructs induced robust silencing of phytoene desaturase genes in N. benthamiana, multiple soybean accessions, and cowpea. Meanwhile, FZ supported systemic expression of fluorescent proteins mNeonGreen and mCherry in N. benthamiana and soybean. Finally, FZ-mediated expression of the Arabidopsis transcription factor MYB75 caused N. benthamiana to bear brown leaves and purple, twisted flowers, indicating that MYB75 retained the function of activating anthocyanin synthesis pathways in a different plant.

CONCLUSIONS

The new CPSMV-derived FZ vector provides a convenient and versatile soybean functional genomics tool that is expected to accelerate the characterization of soybean genes controlling crucial productivity traits.

Pepper Mottle Virus and Its Host Interactions: Current State of Knowledge

Pepper mottle virus (PepMoV) is a destructive pathogen that infects various solanaceous plants, including pepper, bell pepper, potato, and tomato. In this review, we summarize what is known about the molecular characteristics of PepMoV and its interactions with host plants. Comparisons of symptom variations caused by PepMoV isolates in plant hosts indicates a possible relationship between symptom development and genetic variation. Researchers have investigated the PepMoV–plant pathosystem to identify effective and durable genes that confer resistance to the pathogen. As a result, several recessive pvr or dominant Pvr resistance genes that confer resistance to PepMoV in pepper have been characterized. On the other hand, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction between these resistance genes and PepMoV-encoded genes remain largely unknown. Our understanding of the molecular interactions between PepMoV and host plants should be increased by reverse genetic approaches and comprehensive transcriptomic analyses of both the virus and the host genes.

Infectious Clones of Tomato Chlorosis Virus: Toward Increasing Efficiency by Introducing the Hepatitis Delta Virus Ribozyme

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) is an emergent plant pathogen that causes a yellow leaf disorder in tomato and other solanaceous crops. ToCV is a positive-sense, single stranded (ss)RNA bipartite virus with long and flexuous virions belonging to the genus Crininivirus (family Closteroviridae). ToCV is phloem-limited, transmissible by whiteflies, and causes symptoms of interveinal chlorosis, bronzing, and necrosis in the lower leaves of tomato accompanied by a decline in vigor and reduction in fruit yield. The availability of infectious virus clones is a valuable tool for reverse genetic studies that has been long been hampered in the case of closterovirids due to their genome size and complexity. Here, attempts were made to improve the infectivity of the available agroinfectious cDNA ToCV clones (isolate AT80/99-IC from Spain) by adding the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme fused to the 3′ end of both genome components, RNA1 and RNA2. The inclusion of the ribozyme generated a viral progeny with RNA1 3′ ends more similar to that present in the clone used for agroinoculation. Nevertheless, the obtained clones were not able to infect tomato plants by direct agroinoculation, like the original clones. However, the infectivity of the clones carrying the HDV ribozyme in Nicotiana benthamiana plants increased, on average, by two-fold compared with the previously available clones.

Citrus tristeza virus P33 Protein is Required for Efficient Transmission by the Aphid Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus (Kirkaldy)

Plant viruses are threatening many valuable crops, and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is considered one of the most economically important plant viruses. CTV has destroyed millions of citrus trees in many regions of the world. Consequently, understanding of the transmission mechanism of CTV by its main vector, the brown citrus aphid, Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus (Kirkaldy), may lead to better control strategies for CTV. The objective of this study was to understand the CTV-vector relationship by exploring the influence of viral genetic diversity on virus transmission. We built several infectious clones with different 5'-proximal ends from different CTV strains and assessed their transmission by the brown citrus aphid. Replacement of the 5'- end of the T36 isolate with that of the T30 strain (poorly transmitted) did not increase the transmission rate of T36, whereas replacement with that of the T68-1 isolate (highly transmitted) increased the transmission rate of T36 from 1.5 to 23%. Finally, substitution of p33 gene of the T36 strain with that of T68 increased the transmission rate from 1.5% to 17.8%. Although the underlying mechanisms that regulate the CTV transmission process by aphids have been explored in many ways, the roles of specific viral proteins are still not explicit. Our findings will improve our understanding of the transmission mechanisms of CTV by its aphid vector and may lead to the development of control strategies that interfere with its transmission by vector.

Single amino acid substitutions in the coat protein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase alleviated the virulence of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus and conferred cross protection against severe infection

Cross protection is a promising alternate to control Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) which is of increasing economic importance to cucurbit production worldwide. One major factor confronting the application of cross protection to control CGMMV is the scarcity of available mild mutants. The objective of this paper was to screen attenuated mutants of CGMMV and evaluate their potential in cross protection. An infectious cDNA clone of CGMMV, pCGMMV, was obtained by cloning intron-containing CGMMV genome to modified pCambia0390 vector with the Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Five pCGMMV-derived mutants were obtained via site-directed mutagenesis and inoculated to Nicotiana benthamiana plants for symptom observation. The attenuated CGMMV mutants were evaluated for their efficiency in cross protection. The intron-containing clone pCGMMV induced similar disease symptoms and accumulated similar titres of virus in N. benthamiana plants as wild-type CGMMV. Mutations of aspartic acid at position 89 in the coat protein to alanine (D89A) or glutamic acid at position 1069 in the ORF1/2 read-through protein, in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domain to alanine (E1069A) alleviated the symptoms of pCGMMV in N. benthamiana plants significantly. In cross protection assay, the two mutants pCGMMV-CP-D89A and pCGMMV-RdRp-E1069A could prevent the superinfection of CGMMV, with protection efficiency of 91.7% and 100%, respectively. The intron-containing clone pCGMMV was stable and highly infectious. The D89 in the coat protein and E1069 in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase played an important role in regulating the virulence of CGMMV. Mutants pCGMMV-CP-D89A and pCGMMV-RdRp-E1069A were of great potential in the control of CGMMV via cross protection.

Harnessed viruses in the age of metagenomics and synthetic biology: an update on infectious clone assembly and biotechnologies of plant viruses

Recent metagenomic studies have provided an unprecedented wealth of data, which are revolutionizing our understanding of virus diversity. A redrawn landscape highlights viruses as active players in the phytobiome, and surveys have uncovered their positive roles in environmental stress tolerance of plants. Viral infectious clones are key tools for functional characterization of known and newly identified viruses. Knowledge of viruses and their components has been instrumental for the development of modern plant molecular biology and biotechnology. In this review, we provide extensive guidelines built on current synthetic biology advances that streamline infectious clone assembly, thus lessening a major technical constraint of plant virology. The focus is on generation of infectious clones in binary T-DNA vectors, which are delivered efficiently to plants by Agrobacterium. We then summarize recent applications of plant viruses and explore emerging trends in microbiology, bacterial and human virology that, once translated to plant virology, could lead to the development of virus-based gene therapies for ad hoc engineering of plant traits. The systematic characterization of plant virus roles in the phytobiome and next-generation virus-based tools will be indispensable landmarks in the synthetic biology roadmap to better crops.

Amplification and Cloning of Large cDNA Fragments of the Citrus tristeza virus Genome

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is probably the most destructive viral pathogen of citrus. It causes chronic losses to commercial citrus production in all citrus-growing areas. The complete sequences of at least 42 genomes of different CTV strains have been obtained using different technologies including sequencing of multiple overlapped RT-PCR-amplified fragments with sizes of less than 4 kb, or from small viral RNA (svRNA), through next-generation high-throughput sequencing (NGS) technologies. The large size of CTV genome (>19.2 kb) makes it impractical to obtain and amplify full-length cDNA in a single step. The strategy of ligation of multiple cDNA fragments to assemble a full-length cDNA clone involves several serial cloning steps and sometimes subcloning phases using enzymatic digestion with restriction nucleases and ligation reactions. In this protocol, we describe a strategy to clone the entire genome of CTV obtained from two RT-PCR amplified products. These 5'- and 3'-genomic halves, which were designed to be overlapped in 15 nt in their 3'- and 5'-ends, respectively, were used as templates for further overlapped PCR to amplify the entire ~20 kb CTV genome. The resultant full cDNA PCR product was then inserted into pCAMBIA-binary vector.

Development of infectious cDNA clones of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 and analyses of the 5' non-translated region for replication and virion formation

Infectious cDNA clones were developed for Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3, genus Ampelovirus, family Closteroviridae). In vitro RNA transcripts generated from cDNA clones showed replication via the production of 3'-coterminal subgenomic (sg) mRNAs in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts. The detection of sgRNAs and the recovery of progeny recombinant virions from N. benthamiana leaves agroinfiltrated with full-length cDNA clones confirmed RNA replication and virion formation. The 5' non-translated region (5' NTR) of GLRaV-3 was exchangeable between genetic variants and complement the corresponding cognate RNA functions in trans. Mutational analysis of the 5' NTR in minireplicon cDNA clones showed that the conserved 40 nucleotides at the 5'-terminus were indispensable for replication, compared to downstream variable portion of the 5' NTR. Some of the functional mutations in the 5' NTR were tolerated in full-length cDNA clones and produced sgRNAs and virions in N. benthamiana leaves, whereas other mutations affected replication and virion formation.

Construction of an agroinfectious clone of bean rugose mosaic virus using Gibson Assembly

Construction of agroinfectious viral clones usually requires many steps of cloning and sub-cloning and also a binary vector, which makes the process laborious, time-consuming, and frequently susceptible to some degree of plasmid instability. Nowadays, novel methods have been applied to the assembly of infectious viral clones, and here we have applied isothermal, single-step Gibson Assembly (GA) to construct an agroinfectious clone of Bean rugose mosaic virus (BRMV) using a small binary vector. The procedure has drastically reduced the cloning steps, and BRMV could be recovered from agroinfiltrated common bean twenty days after inoculation, indicating that the infectious clone could spread in the plant tissues and efficiently generate a systemic infection. The virus was also recovered from leaves of common bean and soybean cultivars mechanically inoculated with infectious clone two weeks after inoculation, confirming the efficiency of GA cloning procedure to produce the first BRMV agroinfectious clone to bean and soybean.

In Vitro Transcripts of Wild-Type and Fluorescent Protein-Tagged Triticum mosaic virus (Family Potyviridae) are Biologically Active in Wheat

Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) (genus Poacevirus, family Potyviridae) is a recently described eriophyid mite-transmitted wheat virus. In vitro RNA transcripts generated from full-length cDNA clones of TriMV proved infectious on wheat. Wheat seedlings inoculated with in vitro transcripts elicited mosaic and mottling symptoms similar to the wild-type virus, and the progeny virus was efficiently transmitted by wheat curl mites, indicating that the cloned virus retained pathogenicity, movement, and wheat curl mite transmission characteristics. A series of TriMV-based expression vectors was constructed by engineering a green fluorescent protein (GFP) or red fluorescent protein (RFP) open reading frame with homologous NIa-Pro cleavage peptides between the P1 and HC-Pro cistrons. We found that GFP-tagged TriMV with seven or nine amino acid cleavage peptides efficiently processed GFP from HC-Pro. TriMV-GFP vectors were stable in wheat for more than 120 days and for six serial passages at 14-day intervals by mechanical inoculation and were transmitted by wheat curl mites similarly to the wild-type virus. Fluorescent protein-tagged TriMV was observed in wheat leaves, stems, and crowns. The availability of fluorescent protein-tagged TriMV will facilitate the examination of virus movement and distribution in cereal hosts and the mechanisms of cross protection and synergistic interactions between TriMV and Wheat streak mosaic virus.

Simplified methods for the construction of RNA and DNA virus infectious clones

Infectious virus clones are one of the most powerful tools in plant pathology, molecular biology, and biotechnology. The construction of infectious clones of RNA and DNA viruses, however, usually requires laborious cloning and subcloning steps. In addition, instability of the RNA virus genome is frequently reported after its introduction into the vector and transference to Escherichia coli. These difficulties hamper the cloning procedures, making it tedious and cumbersome. This chapter describes two protocols for a simple construction of infectious viruses, an RNA virus, the tobamovirus Pepper mild mottle virus, and a DNA virus, a bipartite begomovirus. For this purpose, the strategy of overlap-extension PCR was used for the construction of infectious tobamovirus clone and of rolling circle amplification (RCA) for the construction of a dimeric form of the begomovirus clone.

A viral protein mediates superinfection exclusion at the whole-organism level but is not required for exclusion at the cellular level

Superinfection exclusion (SIE), the ability of an established virus infection to interfere with a secondary infection by the same or a closely related virus, has been described for different viruses, including important pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a positive-sense RNA virus, represents a valuable model system for studying SIE due to the existence of several phylogenetically distinct strains. Furthermore, CTV allows SIE to be examined at the whole-organism level. Previously, we demonstrated that SIE by CTV is a virus-controlled function that requires the viral protein p33. In this study, we show that p33 mediates SIE at the whole-organism level, while it is not required for exclusion at the cellular level. Primary infection of a host with a fluorescent protein-tagged CTV variant lacking p33 did not interfere with the establishment of a secondary infection by the same virus labeled with a different fluorescent protein. However, cellular coinfection by both viruses was rare. The obtained observations, along with estimates of the cellular multiplicity of infection (MOI) and MOI model selection, suggested that low levels of cellular coinfection appear to be best explained by exclusion at the cellular level. Based on these results, we propose that SIE by CTV is operated at two levels--the cellular and the whole-organism levels--by two distinct mechanisms that could function independently. This novel aspect of viral SIE highlights the intriguing complexity of this phenomenon, further understanding of which may open up new avenues to manage virus diseases.

IMPORTANCE

Many viruses exhibit superinfection exclusion (SIE), the ability of an established virus infection to interfere with a secondary infection by related viruses. SIE plays an important role in the pathogenesis and evolution of virus populations. The observations described here suggest that SIE could be controlled independently at different levels of the host: the whole-organism level or the level of individual cells. The p33 protein of citrus tristeza virus (CTV), an RNA virus, was shown to mediate SIE at the whole-organism level, while it appeared not to be required for exclusion at the cellular level. SIE by CTV is, therefore, highly complex and appears to use mechanisms different from those proposed for other viruses. A better understanding of this phenomenon may lead to the development of new strategies for controlling viral diseases in human populations and agroecosystems.

Infectious cDNA clones of the crinivirus Tomato chlorosis virus are competent for systemic plant infection and whitefly-transmission

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) (genus Crinivirus, family Closteroviridae) causes important emergent diseases in tomato and other solanaceous crops. ToCV is not transmitted mechanically and is naturally transmitted by whiteflies. The ToCV genome consists of two molecules of linear, positive-sense RNA encapsidated into long flexuous virions. We present the construction of full-length cDNA clones of the ToCV genome (RNA1 and RNA2) fused to the SP6 RNA polymerase promoter and under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter. RNA1 replicated in the absence of RNA2 in Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato protoplasts after inoculation with cDNA-derived in vitro transcripts. Agroinfiltration of RNA1 and RNA2 under the 35S promoter resulted in systemic infection in N. benthamiana plants. In addition, tomato plants were infected by grafting with agroinfected N. benthamiana scions, showing the typical ToCV symptoms. The viral progeny generated in tomato was transmissible by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

A simplified approach to construct infectious cDNA clones of a tobamovirus in a binary vector

Infectious cDNA clones of RNA viruses are important tools to study molecular processes such as replication and host-virus interactions. However, the cloning steps necessary for construction of cDNAs of viral RNA genomes in binary vectors are generally laborious. In this study, a simplified method of producing an agro-infectious Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) clone is described in detail. Initially, the complete genome of PMMoV was amplified by a single-step RT-PCR, cloned, and subcloned into a small plasmid vector under the T7 RNA polymerase promoter to confirm the infectivity of the cDNA clone through transcript inoculation. The complete genome was then transferred to a binary vector using a single-step, overlap-extension PCR. The selected clones were agro-infiltrated to Nicotiana benthamiana plants and showed to be infectious, causing typical PMMoV symptoms. No differences in host responses were observed when the wild-type PMMoV isolate, the T7 RNA polymerase-derived transcripts and the agroinfiltration-derived viruses were inoculated to N. benthamiana, Capsicum chinense PI 159236 and Capsicum annuum plants.

Exploring the limits of vector construction based on Citrus tristeza virus

We examined the limits of manipulation of the Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) genome for expressing foreign genes in plants. We previously created a vector with a foreign gene cassette inserted between the major and minor coat protein genes, which is position 6 from the 3' terminus. Yet, this virus has 10 3'-genes with several other potential locations for expression of foreign genes. Since genes positioned closer to the 3' terminus tend to be expressed in greater amounts, there were opportunities for producing greater amounts of foreign protein. We found that the virus tolerated insertions of an extra gene in most positions within the 3' region of the genome with substantially increased levels of gene product produced throughout citrus trees. CTV was amazingly tolerant to manipulation resulting in a suite of stable transient expression vectors, each with advantages for specific uses and sizes of foreign genes in citrus trees.

Enhancement or attenuation of disease by deletion of genes from Citrus tristeza virus

Stem pitting is a common virus-induced disease of perennial woody plants induced by a range of different viruses. The phenotype results from sporadic areas of the stem in which normal xylem and phloem development is prevented during growth of stems. These alterations interfere with carbohydrate transport, resulting in reduced plant growth and yield. Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a phloem-limited closterovirus, induces economically important stem-pitting diseases of citrus. CTV has three nonconserved genes (p33, p18, and p13) that are not related to genes of other viruses and that are not required for systemic infection of some species of citrus, which allowed us to examine the effect of deletions of these genes on symptom phenotypes. In the most susceptible experimental host, Citrus macrophylla, the full-length virus causes only very mild stem-pitting symptoms. Surprisingly, we found that certain deletion combinations (p33 and p18 and/or p13) induced greatly increased stem-pitting symptoms, while other combinations (p13 or p13 plus p18) resulted in reduced stem pitting. These results suggest that the stem-pitting phenotype, which is one of more economically important disease phenotypes, can result not from a specific sequence or protein but from a balance between the expression of different viral genes. Unexpectedly, using green fluorescent protein-tagged full-length virus and deletion mutants (CTV9Δp33 and CTV9Δp33Δp18Δp13), the virus was found at pitted areas in abnormal locations outside the normal ring of phloem. Thus, increased stem pitting was associated not only with a prevention of xylem production but also with a proliferation of cells that supported viral replication, suggesting that at random areas of stems the virus can elicit changes in cellular differentiation and development.

Superinfection exclusion is an active virus-controlled function that requires a specific viral protein

Superinfection exclusion, a phenomenon in which a preexisting viral infection prevents a secondary infection with the same or a closely related virus, has been described for various viruses, including important pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. The phenomenon was initially used to test the relatedness of plant viruses. Subsequently, purposeful infection with a mild isolate has been implemented as a protective measure against virus isolates that cause severe disease. In the medical and veterinary fields, superinfection exclusion was found to interfere with repeated applications of virus-based vaccines to individuals with persistent infections and with the introduction of multicomponent vaccines. In spite of its significance, our understanding of this phenomenon is surprisingly incomplete. Recently, it was demonstrated that superinfection exclusion of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a positive-sense RNA closterovirus, occurs only between isolates of the same strain, but not between isolates of different strains of the virus. In this study, I show that superinfection exclusion by CTV requires production of a specific viral protein, the p33 protein. Lack of the functional p33 protein completely eliminated the ability of the virus to exclude superinfection by the same or a closely related virus. Remarkably, the protein appeared to function only in a homology-dependent manner. A cognate protein from a heterologous strain failed to confer the exclusion, suggesting the existence of precise interactions of the p33 protein with other factors involved in this complex phenomenon.

Agroinoculation of Citrus tristeza virus causes systemic infection and symptoms in the presumed nonhost Nicotiana benthamiana

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) naturally infects only some citrus species and relatives and within these it only invades phloem tissues. Failure to agroinfect citrus plants and the lack of an experimental herbaceous host hindered development of a workable genetic system. A full-genome cDNA of CTV isolate T36 was cloned in binary plasmids and was used to agroinfiltrate Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, with or without coinfiltration with plasmids expressing different silencing-suppressor proteins. A time course analysis in agroinfiltrated leaves indicated that CTV accumulates and moves cell-to-cell for at least three weeks postinoculation (wpi), and then, it moves systemically and infects the upper leaves with symptom expression. Silencing suppressors expedited systemic infection and often increased infectivity. In systemically infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants, CTV invaded first the phloem, but after 7 wpi, it was also found in other tissues and reached a high viral titer in upper leaves, thus allowing efficient transmission to citrus by stem-slash inoculation. Infected citrus plants showed the symptoms, virion morphology, and phloem restriction characteristic of the wild T36 isolate. Therefore, agroinfiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana provided the first experimental herbaceous host for CTV and an easy and efficient genetic system for this closterovirus.

Visualization of resistance responses in Phaseolus vulgaris using reporter tagged clones of Bean common mosaic virus

Reporter tagged virus clones can provide detailed information on virus-host interactions. In Phaseolus vulgaris (bean), four recessive and one dominant gene are known to control infection by strains of the potyvirus species Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV). To study the interactions between BCMV and bean genotypes with different resistance gene combinations, an infectious clone of the strain RU1 was tagged with the UidA gene encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS). The clone was agroinoculated to bean genotypes with different combinations of the resistance genes bc-u, bc-1, bc-2, bc-3 and I. In situ histochemical GUS assays showed new details of the resistance responses, which were previously analysed by immunological methods and symptom descriptions. In some instances GUS assays suggested that resistance breaking strains appeared at single foci in uninoculated leaves. To allow recovery of resistance breaking strains for further studies, BCMV RU1 was tagged with the sequence encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP), which was visualized directly without destruction of the tissue. In this paper we present details of the construction of the infectious clone and discuss its application in studies of BCMV resistance in bean.

Stability of Tobacco etch virus infectious clones in plasmid vectors

Tobacco etch virus (TEV) has been traditionally used as a model to research many aspects of the molecular biology of plant RNA virus and, more recently, experimental evolution. However, the only plasmid of this virus species with an infectious clone that has been commonly available to research (pTEV7DA) is rather unstable when propagated in the bacterium Escherichia coli. Here, the TEV infectious clone contained in pTEV7DA is used to construct three new plasmids that allowed infecting the host plants from RNA transcripts synthesized in vitro (pMTEV), directly from plasmid DNA (p35TEV) and by agroinoculation (pGTEV). To increase stability of the three constructed plasmids in E. coli, superfluous vector sequences were removed and the virus expression cassettes were inserted between the plasmid replication origins and antibiotic selection markers in reverse orientation to the latter gene. Although the TEV cDNA in these three new plasmids is not interrupted by any exogenous sequence, they are more stable than the parental pTEV7DA during propagation in E. coli, indicating a major contribution of the plasmid context in virus cDNA stability. Using the different inocula produced from the three new plasmids the TEV infectivity was also compared. The results showed that agroinoculation is the most effective inoculation method and is where symptoms unfold earlier.

Heterologous minor coat proteins of Citrus tristeza virus strains affect encapsidation, but the coexpression of HSP70h and p61 restores encapsidation to wild-type levels

The long flexuous bipolar virions of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a Closterovirus, are encapsidated with two capsid proteins at opposite ends: the minor coat protein (CPm) encapsidates the 5' 630 nts of the genomic RNA and the major coat protein encapsidates the remainder of the genome. In this study, we found encapsidation of CTV CPm in the absence of other assembly-related proteins is highly specific in contrast to most plant viruses that allow virion assembly by a range of heterologous coat proteins. Heterologous CPms with 95-96% amino acid identity from related strains in CTV-CPm, a replicon with CPm as the only assembly-related ORF, either failed to initiate encapsidation or reduced encapsidation substantially. Substitution of subsets of amino acids revealed that the amino acids that differ between positions 121 and 180 of the VT strain, and 61 and 120 of the T3 strain were involved in specific encapsidation. We further mapped the specific encapsidation to a single amino acid: mutation of methionine(165) to threonine (VT type) or serine(105) to proline (T3 type) in CTV-CPm failed to form nucleocapsids. However, the heterologous CPm in combination with both HSP70h and p61 proteins, but not HSP70h or p61 alone, encapsidated at wild-type levels, suggesting that specific encapsidation by CPm was mitigated by the combination of HSP70h and p61. Thus, in addition to the previously described functions of HSP70h and p61 of greatly enhanced virion formation and restriction of CPm encapsidation to the 5' 630 nts of the genomic RNA, these proteins facilitate encapsidation by heterologous CPms.

Infection with strains of Citrus tristeza virus does not exclude superinfection by other strains of the virus

Superinfection exclusion or homologous interference, a phenomenon in which a primary viral infection prevents a secondary infection with the same or closely related virus, has been observed commonly for viruses in various systems, including viruses of bacteria, plants, and animals. With plant viruses, homologous interference initially was used as a test of virus relatedness to define whether two virus isolates were "strains" of the same virus or represented different viruses, and subsequently purposeful infection with a mild isolate was implemented as a protective measure against isolates of the virus causing severe disease. In this study we examined superinfection exclusion of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a positive-sense RNA closterovirus. Thirteen naturally occurring isolates of CTV representing five different virus strains and a set of isolates originated from virus constructs engineered based on an infectious cDNA clone of T36 isolate of CTV, including hybrids containing sequences from different isolates, were examined for their ability to prevent superinfection by another isolate of the virus. We show that superinfection exclusion occurred only between isolates of the same strain and not between isolates of different strains. When isolates of the same strain were used for sequential plant inoculation, the primary infection provided complete exclusion of the challenge isolate, whereas isolates from heterologous strains appeared to have no effect on replication, movement or systemic infection by the challenge virus. Surprisingly, substitution of extended cognate sequences from isolates of the T68 or T30 strains into T36 did not confer the ability of resulting hybrid viruses to exclude superinfection by those donor strains. Overall, these results do not appear to be explained by mechanisms proposed previously for other viruses. Moreover, these observations bring an understanding of some previously unexplained fundamental features of CTV biology and, most importantly, build a foundation for the strategy of selecting mild isolates that would efficiently exclude severe virus isolates as a practical means to control CTV diseases.

The pathogenicity determinant of Citrus tristeza virus causing the seedling yellows syndrome maps at the 3'-terminal region of the viral genome

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) (genus Closterovirus, family Closteroviridae) causes some of the more important viral diseases of citrus worldwide. The ability to map disease-inducing determinants of CTV is needed to develop better diagnostic and disease control procedures. A distinctive phenotype of some isolates of CTV is the ability to induce seedling yellows (SY) in sour orange, lemon and grapefruit seedlings. In Florida, the decline isolate of CTV, T36, induces SY, whereas a widely distributed mild isolate, T30, does not. To delimit the viral sequences associated with the SY syndrome, we created a number of T36/T30 hybrids by substituting T30 sequences into different regions of the 3' half of the genome of an infectious cDNA of T36. Eleven T36/T30 hybrids replicated in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts. Five of these hybrids formed viable virions that were mechanically transmitted to Citrus macrophylla, a permissive host for CTV. All induced systemic infections, similar to that of the parental T36 clone. Tissues from these C. macrophylla source plants were then used to graft inoculate sour orange and grapefruit seedlings. Inoculation with three of the T30/T36 hybrid constructs induced SY symptoms identical to those of T36; however, two hybrids with T30 substitutions in the p23-3' nontranslated region (NTR) (nucleotides 18 394-19 296) failed to induce SY. Sour orange seedlings infected with a recombinant non-SY p23-3' NTR hybrid also remained symptomless when challenged with the parental virus (T36), demonstrating the potential feasibility of using engineered constructs of CTV to mitigate disease.

Insertion in the coding region of the movement protein improves stability of the plasmid encoding a tomato mosaic virus-based expression vector

A major obstacle in the genetic manipulation of tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) is the instability of the plasmid containing the infectious full-length cDNA of the ToMV vector, which often prevents the subcloning of a foreign gene of interest into the vector. We found that an insertion of a 0.3-1.6-kbp DNA fragment in the movement protein (MP) coding region effectively attenuated bacterial toxicity of the plasmid and greatly increased plasmid yield. Accumulation of a modified ToMV containing a 0.3-kb insertion in the MP coding region was comparable to that of a modified ToMV without an insertion in tobacco BY-2 protoplasts, while an insertion more than 0.6 kb significantly reduced accumulation of the viral RNA. The modified ToMV vector containing a 0.3-kb insertion was easily manipulated to introduce a coding sequence for human interferon-gamma (HuIFN-gamma) and successfully utilized to produce HuIFN-gamma in both BY-2 protoplasts and transgenic BY-2 cells.

Three genes of Citrus tristeza virus are dispensable for infection and movement throughout some varieties of citrus trees

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a member of the Closteroviridae, possesses a 19.3-kb positive-stranded RNA genome that is organized into twelve open reading frames (ORFs). The CTV genome contains two sets of conserved genes, which are characteristic of this virus group, the replication gene block (ORF 1a and 1b) and the quintuple gene block (p6, HSP70 h, p61, CPm, and CP). With the exception of the p6 gene, they are required for replication and virion assembly. CTV contains five additional genes, p33, p18, p13, p20 and p23, in the 3' half of the genome, some of which (p33, p18 and p13) are not conserved among other members of this virus group, and have been proposed to have evolved for specific interactions with the citrus host. In the present study, the requirements for systemic infection of citrus trees of p33, p6, p18, p13 and p20 were examined. Viral mutants with a deletion in the p6 or the p20 ORF failed to infect citrus plants systemically, suggesting their possible roles in virus translocation/systemic infection. However, we found that deletions within the p33, p18 or p13 ORF individually resulted in no significant loss of ability of the virus to infect, multiply, and spread throughout citrus trees. Furthermore, deletions in the p33, p18 and p13 genes in all possible combinations including deletions in all three genes allowed the virus to systemically invade citrus trees. Green fluorescent protein-tagged CTV variants with deletions in the p33 ORF or the p33, p18 and p13 ORFs demonstrated that the movement and distribution of these deletion mutants were similar to that of the wild-type virus.

Citrus tristeza virus: survival at the edge of the movement continuum

Systemic invasion of plants by viruses is thought to involve two processes: cell-to-cell movement between adjacent cells and long-distance movement that allows the virus to rapidly move through sieve elements and unload at the growing parts of the plant. There is a continuum of proportions of these processes that determines the degrees of systemic infection of different plants by different viruses. We examined the systemic distribution of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) in citrus species with a range of susceptibilities. By using a "pure" culture of CTV from a cDNA clone and green fluorescent protein-labeled virus we show that both cell-to-cell and long-distance movement are unusually limited, and the degree of limitation varies depending on the citrus host. In the more-susceptible hosts CTV infected only a small portion of phloem-associated cells, and moreover, the number of infection sites in less-susceptible citrus species was substantially decreased further, indicating that long-distance movement was reduced in those hosts. Analysis of infection foci in the two most differential citrus species, Citrus macrophylla and sour orange, revealed that in the more-susceptible host the infection foci were composed of a cluster of multiple cells, while in the less-susceptible host infection foci were usually single cells, suggesting that essentially no cell-to-cell movement occurred in the latter host. Thus, CTV in sour orange represents a pattern of systemic infection in which the virus appears to function with only the long-distance movement mechanism, yet is able to survive in nature.

Insertion of introns: a strategy to facilitate assembly of infectious full length clones

Some DNA fragments are difficult to clone in Escherichia coli by standard methods. It has been speculated that unintended transcription and translation result in expression of proteins that are toxic to the bacteria. This problem is frequently observed during assembly of infectious full-length virus clones. If the clone is constructed for transcription in vivo, interrupting the virus sequence with an intron can solve the toxicity problem. The AU-rich introns generally contain many stop codons, which interrupt translation in E. coli, while the intron sequence is precisely eliminated from the virus sequence in the plant nucleus. The resulting RNA, which enters the cytoplasm, is identical to the virus sequence and can initiate infection.

Cloning of large positive-strand RNA viruses

Full-length, biologically active cDNA clones of the positive-strand RNA plant viruses are indispensable for investigating the functions of viral genes and control elements as well as generating virus-derived gene expression and silencing vectors. Even though engineering of such clones for 4- to 10-kb viral RNAs has become routine, it remains a challenging task for 15- to 20-kb RNA genomes of the monopartite viruses in a family Closteroviridae. This unit describes strategic considerations and techniques used to generate an infectious cDNA clone of a closterovirus. The use of agroinfection to improve specific infectivity of the resulting clone is also explained.

A stable RNA virus-based vector for citrus trees

Virus-based vectors are important tools in plant molecular biology and plant genomics. A number of vectors based on viruses that infect herbaceous plants are in use for expression or silencing of genes in plants as well as screening unknown sequences for function. Yet there is a need for useful virus-based vectors for woody plants, which demand much greater stability because of the longer time required for systemic infection and analysis. We examined several strategies to develop a Citrus tristeza virus (CTV)-based vector for transient expression of foreign genes in citrus trees using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter. These strategies included substitution of the p13 open reading frame (ORF) by the ORF of GFP, construction of a self-processing fusion of GFP in-frame with the major coat protein (CP), or expression of the GFP ORF as an extra gene from a subgenomic (sg) mRNA controlled either by a duplicated CTV CP sgRNA controller element (CE) or an introduced heterologous CE of Beet yellows virus. Engineered vector constructs were examined for replication, encapsidation, GFP expression during multiple passages in protoplasts, and for their ability to infect, move, express GFP, and be maintained in citrus plants. The most successful vectors based on the 'add-a-gene' strategy have been unusually stable, continuing to produce GFP fluorescence after more than 4 years in citrus trees.

An atypical 3'-controller element mediates low-level transcription of the p6 subgenomic mRNA of Citrus tristeza virus

SUMMARY Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) has within the 3'-half of the genome ten open reading frames (ORFs) that are expressed through a series of 3'-coterminal subgenomic (sg) messenger (m)RNAs that, in general, function as monocistronic mRNAs with only the 5'-most ORF translated. Yet only nine sg mRNAs have been detected, suggesting that ORF 3, which is predicted to encode a small hydrophobic protein of approximately 6 kDa (p6), might be expressed in some other manner, perhaps from a functionally dicistronic sg mRNA. However, when we positioned the p6 gene near the 3'-terminus of a minimal CTV replicon to amplify greatly the level of production of the putative sg mRNA, we found a minimal level of a p6 mRNA, thus providing evidence for a separate mRNA for each 3' ORF. The 5' termini of the sg mRNAs and the cis-acting elements (controller elements-CEs) that regulate the production of the p6 gene and the adjacent HSP70h (heat shock protein 70 homologue) were located further upstream of the ORFs compared with the other CTV CEs. Both preferentially initiated synthesis with an adenylate, as has been shown for the more highly expressed 3' genes; but in contrast, the p6 sg mRNA occasionally initiated with a guanylate. Although the nucleotide sequences and the computer-predicted secondary structures of the HSP70h CE were similar to those previously described for other 3' CEs, those of the p6 CE were quite different, suggesting that CE strength is related to proximity to an ideal CE conformation. The lack of similarity between different CTV CEs led us to examine how well the CTV replicase complex could initiate sg mRNAs from CEs from different members of the family Closteroviridae. We found that the CTV replicase complex efficiently initiated production of sgRNAs from the p6 and HSP70h CEs from Beet yellows virus, with the HSP70h CE initiating at the same nucleotide as within the homologous virus, indicating that the mode of recognition of the CEs is similar. However, CEs from a more distantly related member of the Closteroviridae, Lettuce infectious yellows virus, did not function to produce sg mRNAs in CTV.

cis-acting elements at opposite ends of the Citrus tristeza virus genome differ in initiation and termination of subgenomic RNAs

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a member of the Closteroviridae with a plus-stranded genomic RNA of approximately 20 kb, produces 10 3'-coterminal subgenomic (sg) RNAs that serve as messenger (m)RNAs for its internal genes. In addition, a population of 5'-terminal sgRNAs of approximately 700 nts are highly abundant in infected cells. Previous analysis demonstrated that the controller elements (CE) are responsible for the 3'-terminal mRNAs and the small 5'-terminal sgRNAs differ in the number of additional sgRNAs produced. A feature of both types of CE is production of 5'- and 3'-terminal positive-stranded sgRNAs, but the 3' CEs additionally produce a negative-stranded complement of the 3'-terminal mRNAs. Here, we found that the termination (for 5'-terminal sgRNAs) and initiation (for 3'-terminal sgRNAs) sites of the 5' vs. the 3' CEs occur at opposite ends of the respective minimal active CEs. The initiation site for the 3' CE of the major coat protein gene, and probably those of the p20 and p23 genes, was outside (3' in terms of the genomic RNA) the minimal unit, whereas the termination sites were located within the minimal CE, 30-50 nts upstream of the initiation site (referring to the positive-strand sequence). In contrast, the initiation site for the 5' CE was in the 5' region of the minimal unit, with the termination sites 20-35 nts downstream (referring to the positive-strand sequence). Furthermore, the CEs differ in initiation nucleotide and response to mutagenesis of that nucleotide. The 3' CE initiates sgRNA synthesis from a uridylate, whereas the 5' CE initiates from a cytidylate. We previously found that the 3' CEs were unusually tolerant to mutagenesis of the initiation sites, with initiation proceeding from alternative sites. Mutagenesis of the initiation site of the 5' CE prevented synthesis of either the 5'- or 3'-terminal sgRNAs. Thus, the cis-acting elements at opposite ends of the genome are remarkably different, perhaps having arisen from different origins and or with different functions in the life cycle of this virus.

Closterovirus bipolar virion: evidence for initiation of assembly by minor coat protein and its restriction to the genomic RNA 5' region

The long flexuous virions of the Closteroviridae have a unique bipolar architecture incorporating two coat proteins, with most of the helical nucleocapsid encapsidated by the major coat protein (CP) and a small portion of one end encapsidated by the minor coat protein (CPm). It is not known whether CPm encapsidates the genomic RNA and, if so, which end and what effects transition between the two coat proteins. Two other virus-encoded proteins, an HSP70 homolog (HSP70h) and an approximately 61-kDa protein, are required to augment virion assembly. In this work, we examine the in vivo encapsidation of Citrus tristeza virus by its CPm in the absence of CP. In the absence of other assembly-related proteins, CPm protected a family of 5' coterminal RNAs, apparently because of pausing at different locations along the genomic RNA. Most of the nucleocapsids formed by CPm were short, but a few were full-length and infectious. Mutations within the 5' nontranslated region demonstrated that the CPm origin of assembly overlaps the previously described conserved stem-and-loop structures that function as a cis-acting element required for RNA synthesis. Thus, in the absence of CP, the CPm encapsidation is initiated from the 5' end of the genomic RNA. Coexpression of HSP70h and the p61 protein with CPm in protoplasts restricted encapsidation to the 5' approximately 630 nucleotides, which is close to the normal boundary of the bipolar virion, whereas the presence of either HSP70h or the p61 protein alone did not limit encapsidation by CPm.

The conserved structures of the 5' nontranslated region of Citrus tristeza virus are involved in replication and virion assembly

The genomic RNA of different isolates of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) reveals an unusual pattern of sequence diversity: the 3' halves are highly conserved (homology >90%), while the 5' halves show much more dissimilarity, with the 5' nontranslated region (NTR) containing the highest diversity (homology as low as 42%). Yet, positive-sense sequences of the 5' NTR were predicted to fold into nearly identical structures consisting of two stem-loops (SL1 and SL2) separated by a short spacer region. The predicted most stable secondary structures of the negative-sense sequences were more variable. We introduced mutations into the 5' NTR of a CTV replicon to alter the sequence and/or the predicted secondary structures with or without additional compensatory changes designed to restore predicted secondary structures, and examined their effect on replication in transfected protoplasts. The results suggested that the predicted secondary structures of the 5' NTR were more important for replication than the primary structure. Most mutations that were predicted to disrupt the secondary structures fail to replicate, while compensatory mutations were allowed replication to resume. The 5' NTR mutations that were tolerated by the CTV replicon were examined in the full-length virus for effects on replication and production of the multiple subgenomic RNAs. Additionally, the ability of these mutants to produce virions was monitored by electron microscopy and by passaging the progeny nucleocapsids to another batch of protoplasts. Some of the mutants with compensatory sequence alterations predicted to rebuild similar secondary structures allowed replication at near wild-type levels but failed to passage, suggesting that the 5' NTR contains sequences required for both replication and virion assembly.