Sequence polymorphism in the 5'NTR and in the P1 coding region of potato virus Y genomic RNA

Potato virus Y (PVY) the type member of the genus Potyvirus, occurs world-wide as isolates which differ in host range and the type of symptoms caused. The sequences of a 5' segment of viral RNA overlapping the 5' non-translated region (5'NTR) alone (ten isolates) or the 5'NTR and the adjacent P1 coding region (eight isolates) were established. These data were used to quantify the polymorphism in the 5'-terminal part of the PVY genome. Nucleotide sequence identity between isolates ranged from 66-100% in the 5'NTR and from 70-100% in the P1 coding region. The lowest amino acid sequence similarity between PVY P1 was 77%, illustrating the high variability of this protein in the PVY species. Phylogenetic trees based on either 5'NTR or P1 sequence analyses resulted in the same clustering of the studied isolates into three groups. Group I comprises potato isolates all inducing 'tobacco veinal necrosis' symptoms. Group II contains isolates inducing either 'tobacco veinal necrosis' or mosaic symptoms in tobacco. Group III contains mainly pepper or tomato isolates inducing mosaic symptoms in tobacco and shows a geographical clustering of the Tunisian isolates. This clustering into three groups is discussed in comparison with phylogenetic trees previously obtained from capsid gene or 3'NTR sequence analysis in the PVY species. Multiple sequence alignment indicated conserved motifs potentially involved in viral functions.

Tobacco veinal necrosis determinants are unlikely to be located within the 5' and 3' terminal sequences of the potato virus Y genome

Three potato virus Y isolates, representatives of distinct PVY groups, identified in potato fields in northern Poland were submitted to biological and molecular analysis. Phenotypically, two isolates, PVYN-Ny and PVYN-Wi, belong to the necrotic strain and the third one (PVYO-LW) to the common strain. PVYN-Wi, however, did not react with monoclonal antibodies directed against the necrotic strain isolates which recognise PVYN-Ny. To characterise the isolates, coat protein genes were sequenced and compared with sequences from databases. The necrotic PVYN-Wi isolate showed 99% amino acid homology with the common one-PVYO-LW and significantly differed from the second necrotic isolate (PVYN-Ny). Sequence based homology matrix and phylogenetic analysis lead to classification of PVYN-Ny into group I, encompassing solely necrotic strain isolates, whereas PVYN-Wi falls into a phenotypically heterogeneous group II. The sequence analysis allowed for identification of putative group I-specific epitopes. 3'NTR (non-translated region) sequences were identical for PVYN-Wi and PVYO-LW. The 5'NTR, P1 gene, coat protein gene and 3'NTR sequences of the common (PVYO-LW) and the necrotic (PVYN-Wi) isolates are 99-100% homologous. This suggests that tobacco veinal necrosis determinants are located outside the 3' and 5' terminal sequences of the PVY genome.

Novel roles for elongin C in yeast

Mammalian Elongin C is a 112-amino acid protein that binds to the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor and to Elongin A, the transcriptionally active subunit of the RNA polymerase II elongation factor, SIII. It is conserved in eukaryotic cells, as homologs have been identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. The mammalian protein is thought to function as part of a ubiquitin targeting E3 ligase, yet the function in yeast has not been determined. In this report we examine the role of Elongin C in yeast and establish that yeast Elongin C may function in a mode distinct from its role as an E3 ligase. The RNA is expressed ubiquitously, albeit at low levels. Two hybrid analyses demonstrate that Elongin C in yeast interacts with a specific set of proteins that are involved in the stress response. This suggests a novel role for Elongin C and provides insights into additional potential functions in mammalian cells.

Synthesis of full-length potyvirus cDNA copies suitable for the analysis of genome polymorphism

New methods facilitating the synthesis and amplification of full-length cDNA copies of single-stranded viral RNA genomes have been developed. A method is described for the efficient purification of potyviral RNA and total RNA from infected plants and it is shown that they can serve as templates for the efficient synthesis of a full-length, 10 kb long, genomic cDNA. Two different reverse transcriptases were used (AMV-RT and MMLV-RT); only the first reverse transcriptase produced a good quality, full-length cDNA using viral RNA as a template. Surprisingly, MMLV-RT allowed for the full-length cDNA synthesis on virions rather than viral RNA. The PVY cDNA, synthesized using either RNA or virions, can be amplified successfully by PCR with high yields of full-length products. Such products are good substrates for the study by RFLP of the total genome polymorphism of virus isolates.