Caulimoviridae tubule-guided transport is dictated by movement protein properties.
Plant viruses move through plasmodesmata (PD) either as nucleoprotein complexes (NPCs) or as tubule-guided encapsidated particles with the help of movement proteins (MPs). To explore how and why MPs specialize in one mechanism or the other, we tested the exchangeability of MPs encoded by DNA and RNA virus genomes by means of an engineered alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) system. We show that Caulimoviridae (DNA genome virus) MPs are competent for RNA virus particle transport but are unable to mediate NPC movement, and we discuss this restriction in terms of the evolution of DNA virus MPs as a means of mediating DNA viral genome entry into the RNA-trafficking PD pathway.
Istituto di Virologia Vegetale, Consiglio, Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy.
Jesús
J
Sánchez-Navarro
Thor
T
Fajardo
Stefania
S
Zicca
Vicente
V
Pallás
Livia
L
Stavolone
D017794:Alfalfa mosaic virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D052639:Caulimoviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D053830:Plant Viral Movement Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000502:physiology*
D053830:Plant Viral Movement Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors