C4 protein of Beet severe curly top virus is a pathomorphogenetic factor in Arabidopsis.
The Curtovirus C4 protein is required for symptom development during infection of Arabidopsis. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing C4 from either Beet curly top virus or Beet severe curly top virus produced phenotypes that were similar to symptoms seen during infection with wild-type viruses. The pseudosymptoms caused by C4 protein alone were novel to transgenic Arabidopsis and included bumpy trichomes, severe enations, disorientation of vascular bundles and stomata, swelling, callus-like structure formation, and twisted siliques. C4 induced abnormal cell division and altered cell fate in a variety of tissues depending on the C4 expression level. C4 protein expression increased the expression levels of cell-cycle-related genes CYCs, CDKs and PCNA, and suppressed ICK1 and the retinoblastoma-related gene RBR1, resulting in activation of host cell division. These results suggest that the Curtovirus C4 proteins are involved actively in host cell-cycle regulation to recruit host factors for virus replication and symptom development.
Department of Genetic Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea.
Jungan
J
Park
Hyun-Sik
HS
Hwang
Kenneth J
KJ
Buckley
Jong-Bum
JB
Park
Chung-Kyun
CK
Auh
Dong-Giun
DG
Kim
Sukchan
S
Lee
Keith R
KR
Davis
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000821:virology*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D005819:Genetic Markers; D009024:Morphogenesis; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
D005819:Genetic Markers; D014764:Viral Proteins