title: Site-directed mutagenesis and generation of chimeric viruses by homologous recombination in yeast to facilitate analysis of plant-virus interactions.
abstract: A yeast homologous recombination system was used to generate mutants and chimeras in the genome of Potato leafroll virus (PLRV). A yeast-bacteria shuttle vector was developed that allows mutants and chimeras generated in yeast to be transformed into Escherichia coli for confirmation of the mutations and transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens to facilitate agroinfection of plants by the mutant PLRV genomes. The advantages of the system include the high frequency of recovered mutants generated by yeast homologous recombination, the ability to generate over 20 mutants and chimeras using only two restriction endonuclease sites, the ability to introduce multiple additional sequences using three and four DNA fragments, and the mobilization of the same plasmid from yeast to E. coli, A. tumefaciens, and plants. The wild-type PLRV genome showed no loss of virulence after sequential propagation in yeast, E. coli, and A. tumefaciens. Moreover, many PLRV clones with mutations generated in the capsid protein and readthrough domain of the capsid protein replicated and moved throughout plants. This approach will facilitate the analysis of plant-virus interactions of in vivo-generated mutants for many plant viruses, especially those not transmissible mechanically to plants.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service and Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Delin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Stewart M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palukaitis
mesh_terms: D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*