- Volume 72, Issue 7, 1991

HepG2 human hepatoma cells were transfected with the luciferase reporter gene, linked with a liver-specific enhancer plus a minimal promoter, contained within either pBR/pUC or Moloney murine leukaemia virus (MMLV) proviral plasmid contexts. Reporter expression from the proviral plasmid was decreased 10- to 20-fold, regardless of whether or not the orientation within the proviral DNA was appropriate for the use of the poly(A) signal in the 3′ long terminal repeat (LTR). Efficient reporter expression was restored when the proviral transcription unit was provided with a simian virus 40 poly(A) signal. These results imply that the MMLV LTR poly(A) signal is inefficient. Therefore, strategies to maximize expression of internal transcription units from retroviral vectors should include the provision of an efficient (unidirectional) poly(A) signal (its requiring insertion in the reverse orientation to that of viral transcription).

Molecularly cloned radiation leukaemia viruses (RadLVs) isolated from the BL/VL3 radiation-induced thymoma have been used in assays to compare the binding specificity of the BL/VL3 cell line for different retroviruses. BL/VL3 cells bound well to two of three thymotropic, leukaemogenic viruses produced by this cell line. BL/VL3 did not bind to a cloned fibrotropic, non-leukaemogenic RadLV. BL/VL3 appears to have receptor specificity for only some of the leukaemogenic RadLVs, and this appears to be related to differences in the viral env sequence.

The DNA polymerase genes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) were inserted separately into the polyhedrin gene of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) by cotransfection of Spodoptera frugiperda (SF9) cells with baculovirus transfer vectors carrying the genes and AcNPV infectious DNA. Infection of SF9 cells with the recombinant viruses resulted in expression from the polyhedrin promoter of proteins of the expected M rs. These proteins possessed DNA polymerase activities similar to that of the enzymes induced by the respective herpesvirus in infected cells, and were identified as HCMV and VZV DNA polymerase using inhibitors and specific antisera reactive with each enzyme.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genomic RNA of cucumber green mottle mosaic virus water-melon strain SH (CGMMV-SH) was determined using cloned cDNA. This sequence is 6421 nucleotides long containing at least four open reading frames, which correspond to 186K, 129K, 29K and 17.3K proteins. The 17.3K protein is the coat protein. Sequence analysis shows that GMMV-SH is very closely related to another watermelon strain, CGMMV-W, although three amino acid substitutions in the 29K protein were found between these strains. The sequence was also compared to those of other tobamoviruses, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) vulgare, TMV-L (a tomato strain) and tobacco mild green mosaic virus reported by other groups. It shows 55 to 56% identity with these viruses. The size and location of the open reading frames are very similar to those of TMV but the 129K and 186K proteins are composed of 1142 and 1646 amino acids, being larger than those of TMV by 27 and 31 amino acids, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of these proteins are highly homologous to those of TMV, especially in the readthrough downstream region of the 186K protein.

Two mutant strains of beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) containing deletion mutants of RNA-2 were produced during serial passage in mechanically inoculated Tetragonia expansa leaves. The mutant strains were referred to as S-0a (RNA-1+2a) and G-0b (RNA-1+2b). RNA-2a and RNA-2b were about 4.3 kb and 4.2 kb in length, respectively, whereas normal sized RNA-2 was about 4.8 kb in length. In vitro translation and immunoblot analysis showed that RNA-2, RNA-2a and RNA-2b all directed synthesis of the coat protein (M r 22K). However, whereas wild-type RNA-2 also directed the synthesis of a coat protein read-through protein with an M r of 83K (predicted M r 75K), RNA-2a and RNA-2b directed the production of readthrough proteins with M rs of 67K and 58K, respectively. This suggests that the deleted regions of RNA-2a and RNA-2b occur within the second open reading frame, which encodes a polypeptide of M r 54K, which is translated by readthrough of the coat protein cistron. After the addition of wild-type RNA-3 and RNA-4 to all the strains, the mutant strains could not be transmitted by Polymyxa betae zoospores produced from either zoosporangia or resting spores, whereas the wild-type strains were readily transmitted. These results indicate that the 75K readthrough protein encoded by RNA-2 is essential for the transmission of BNYVV by P. betae.

The sequence of tomato ringspot virus (TomRSV) RNA-2 has been determined. It is 7273 nucleotides in length excluding the 3′ poly(A) tail and contains a single long open reading frame (ORF) of 5646 nucleotides in the positive sense beginning at position 78 and terminating at position 5723. A second in-frame AUG at position 441 is in a more favourable context for initiation of translation and may act as a site for initiation of translation. The TomRSV RNA-2 3′ non-coding region is 1550 nucleotides in length. The coat protein is located in the C-terminal region of the large polypeptide and shows significant but limited amino acid sequence similarity to the putative coat proteins of the nepoviruses tomato black ring (TBRV), Hungarian grapevine chrome mosaic (GCMV) and grapevine fanleaf (GFLV). Comparisons of the coding and non-coding regions of TomRSV RNA-2 and the RNA components of TBRV, GCMV, GFLV and the comovirus cowpea mosaic virus revealed significant similarity for over 300 amino acids between the coding region immediately to the N-terminal side of the putative coat proteins of TomRSV and GFLV; very little similarity could be detected among the non-coding regions of TomRSV and any of these viruses.

The complete nucleotide sequence of a Venezuelan isolate of potato yellow mosaic virus (PYMV) has been determined, showing it to be typical of subgroup I geminiviruses in that it is whitefly-transmitted, has a circular, bipartite ssDNA genome and possesses bidirectionally orientated open reading frames (ORFs). The two genomic components have little sequence similarity apart from a common region of 268 nucleotides (nt) which is almost identical. Analysis of ORFs revealed six potential coding regions encoding proteins of M r > 10K, four in PYMV A (2593 nt) and two in PYMV B (2547 nt), which are preceded by regulatory transcription elements and have polyadenylation signals present at the ends. Amino acid sequence alignments of PYMV DNA ORF-encoded proteins with those encoded by other previously sequenced geminivirus ORFs show that PYMV is closely related to those geminiviruses isolated from the New World, especially in the putative coat protein gene regions.

The complete sequence of the RNA genome of tobacco necrosis virus strain D (TNV-D) consisting of 3759 nucleotides has been determined. The positive strand contains five open reading frames (ORFs). The 5′-proximal ORF encodes a 22K protein terminating with an amber codon which may be read through to produce a 82K protein (p82). Two small centrally located ORFs each encode two out-of-frame 7K proteins (p7a and p7b). The 3′-proximal ORF encodes the 29K coat protein (CP), the N terminus of which has been sequenced directly. The genomic organization of TNV-D is very similar to that of TNV-A but differs in the placement of the p7a ORF, which does not overlap the p82 ORF in TNV-D, and in the absence of an ORF downstream of the CP gene in TNV-D. The p82 ORF shows extensive sequence similarity with the putative polymerases of the carmovirus group. This ORF is also as closely related to the corresponding ORF of TNV-A as it is to the corresponding ORF of the tombusvirus cucumber necrosis virus. The amino acid sequence of the TNV-D CP gene is similar to both the TNV-A and southern bean mosaic virus CP genes. Of the two p7 ORFs, p7a exhibits amino acid sequence similarity with corresponding proteins from TNV-A, melon necrotic spot virus, carnation mottle virus, turnip crinkle virus and maize chlorotic mottle virus, whereas the p7b ORF appears to be unique to TNV-A and TNV-D. Only the 3′-terminal three nucleotides of TNV-D genomic RNA are identical to the 3′-terminal nucleotides of the TNV satellite virus.

Local areas of conserved amino acid sequence in the replicase and coat proteins of potyviruses were used to select nucleotide sequences for use in the construction of sets of degenerate oligonucleotide primers for amplification of DNA fragments on potyvirus-specific templates in a combined assay of reverse transcription and the polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Sequences selected for the construction of degenerate primers included the coat protein gene sequence of tulip breaking virus from lily, which is reported in this paper. It is shown that the degenerate primers support potyvirus-specific amplification, but do not support amplification on carlavirus and potexvirus templates. A panel consisting of definite and prospective members of the potyvirus group occurring in bulbous crops was subjected to the degenerate primer RT-PCR assay; amplified fragments were used in cross-hybridization experiments and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis to detect relationships among these potyviruses. A partially characterized virus isolated from Gloriosa rothschildiana was positively identified as a potyvirus by specific amplification and subsequent sequence analysis of an amplified DNA fragment.

When the full-length coat protein (CP) of the potyvirus, Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), was expressed in Escherichia coli or yeast, it assembled to form potyvirus-like particles. The particles were heterogeneous in length with a stacked-ring appearance and resembled JGMV particles in their flexuous morphology and width. This cell-free assembly system should permit analysis of the mechanisms of particle assembly and genome encapsidation. Two mutant forms of CP produced by site-directed mutagenesis failed to assemble into virus-like particles.

Cacao swollen shoot disease has been known to be caused by a small non-enveloped bacilliform virus for more than 25 years. Purification using a combination of celite filtration, polyethylene glycol concentration and sucrose density gradient centrifugation has yielded concentrated preparations of purified cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV). Results of nuclease sensitivity tests indicated that the CSSV genome consists of dsDNA which has two single-stranded regions. The approximate size of CSSV DNA calculated from restriction enzyme digests is 7.4 kbp. It is very likely that CSSV is a member of the commelina yellow mottle virus group.

The nucleotide sequence of the 3′-terminal 4773 nucleotides of the RNA of a widely divergent, aphidtransmissible strain of plum pox potyvirus isolated from Egypt (PPV-El Amar) was determined. The sequenced region covers the carboxy terminus of the cylindrical inclusion (CI) gene, and the putative 6K protein, the NIa protease, the NIb RNA polymerase and the coat protein genes, linked together as one large open reading frame (ORF) in a fashion similar to the canonical genomic organization of other potyviruses. The large ORF encoding the polyprotein is followed by a 217 nucleotide non-coding region and a poly(A) tail. However, whereas the three PPV strains previously sequenced show levels of identity in excess of 98%, PPV-El Amar shows levels of heterogeneity of 20% in the nucleotide sequence and 10% in the amino acid sequence, when compared with these previously sequenced strains. The N-terminal region of the capsid protein, postulated to be involved in the aphid transmission mechanism of the virus, was found to be the region which differed most between PPV-El Amar and the other strains.

Several strains of cucumber mosaic virus have been categorized as either ‘fast’ or ‘slow’, based on the time of appearance of symptoms after inoculation onto zucchini squash (Curbita pepo cv. Black Beauty). These strains were examined for their ability to replicate in muskmelon (Cucumis melo cv. Iroquois) at elevated temperatures. All of the fast strains were able to replicate at 37 °C in muskmelon, whereas all of the slow strains were unable to replicate to detectable levels at 37 °C, but replicated efficiently at 27 °C. Using previously constructed pseudorecombinants between a fast and a slow strain, Fny- and Sny-CMV, temperature sensitivity was mapped to RNA 1 of the Sny-CMV strain.

Comparison of the 5′-terminal sequences of several tobraviruses suggests that the RNA-2 molecule of the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) anomalous isolate TCM arose from pea early browning virus (PEBV) RNA-2 by acquisition of 3′ and 5′ sequences from TRV RNA-1 and RNA-2 molecules, respectively. We have identified a region of homology in the RNA-2 molecules of PEBV, TRV and pepper ringspot virus which could have facilitated this recombination.