Aphid transmission studies using helper component proteins of Potato virus Y expressed from a vector derived from Potato virus X

Takahide Sasaya, Lesley Torrance*, Graham Cowan, Angelika Ziegler

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The genes encoding the helper component (HC) proteins of two strains of Potato virus Y (PVY) were cloned and the proteins expressed from a vector derived from Potato virus X (PVX). The expressed HC contained six N-terminal histidine residues to facilitate purification by metal affinity chromatography. Approximately 2-4 μg/g of purified HC was obtained from leaves of Nicotiana benthamiama plants systemically infected by recombinant PVX. Preparations of the HC protein derived from PVY ordinary strain (PVY(o)) assisted aphid transmission of purified particles of PVY(o) and PVY strain C (PVY(c); a naturally occurring non-aphid transmissible strain of PVY which contains a defective HC), as well as Potato aucuba mosaic virus. The HC derived from PVY(c) contained the Glu-Ile-Thr-Cys (EITC) motif, and mutation of Glu (E) to Lys (K) enabled the mutant PVX-expressed preparations to assist virus transmission by aphids. Expression of HC protein from the PVX vector produced biologically active protein. This approach should facilitate further studies to elucidate more precisely the molecular mechanism of virus transmission by aphids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1115-1119
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of General Virology
Volume81
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2000

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Aphid transmission studies using helper component proteins of Potato virus Y expressed from a vector derived from Potato virus X'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this