title: Structural insights into the molecular mechanisms of cauliflower mosaic virus transmission by its insect vector.
abstract: Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) is transmitted from plant to plant through a seemingly simple interaction with insect vectors. This process involves an aphid receptor and two viral proteins, P2 and P3. P2 binds to both the aphid receptor and P3, itself tightly associated with the virus particle, with the ensemble forming a transmissible viral complex. Here, we describe the conformations of both unliganded CaMV P3 protein and its virion-associated form. X-ray crystallography revealed that the N-terminal domain of unliganded P3 is a tetrameric parallel coiled coil with a unique organization showing two successive four-stranded subdomains with opposite supercoiling handedness stabilized by a ring of interchain disulfide bridges. A structural model of virus-liganded P3 proteins, folding as an antiparallel coiled-coil network coating the virus surface, was derived from molecular modeling. Our results highlight the structural and biological versatility of this coiled-coil structure and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in CaMV acquisition and transmission by the insect vector.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Biochimie Structurale, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier Cedex, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hoh
authors.forename: Marilyne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uzest
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drucker
authors.forename: Célia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Plisson-Chastang
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bron
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dumas
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017796:Caulimovirus / Q000737:chemistry*; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015678:Viral Structural Proteins