- Volume 74, Issue 9, 1993

The 454-amino acid nucleocapsid (N) protein of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) binds the leader RNA sequence located at the 5′ ends of all plus-sense genomic and subgenomic viral mRNAs. Purified N protein was cleaved with formic acid to determine which domain interacts with the leader RNA sequence. Incubation at 42 °C resulted in partial cleavage into two fragments of M rs of approximately 32K and 37K and three fragments of 17K, 16K and 14K. Incubation at 56 °C resulted in complete cleavage yielding only the three lower molecular mass products. Both the 32K and 37K partial cleavage products and one of the complete cleavage products bind MHV leader RNA, suggesting that the central region of the N protein contains the RNA-binding domain. Monoclonal antibody mapping of the cleavage products confirmed that the MHV leader RNA binding domain is contained within the central 140-amino acid fragment, comprising amino acids 169 to 308. Analysis of the amino acids within this domain indicates no similarity to any previously described RNA-binding protein, suggesting that N protein may possess a unique RNA-binding motif.

The gene encoding the spike protein of the OC43 strain of human coronavirus (HCV-OC43) was cloned and sequenced. The complete nucleotide sequence revealed an open reading frame of 4062 nucleotides encoding a protein of 1353 amino acids with a predicted M r of 150078. Structural features include 22 N-glycosylation sites, an N-terminal hydrophobic signal sequence of 17 amino acids, an hydrophilic cysteine-rich sequence of 35 amino acids near the C terminus, and a potential proteolytic cleavage site (RRSR) between amino acid residues 758 and 759, yielding S1 and S2 segments of 84730 and 65366 M r, respectively. The predicted amino acid sequence of the spike protein of HCV-OC43 has 91% identity with that of the Mebus strain of bovine coronavirus, revealing more sequence divergence in the putative bulbous part (S1) than in the predicted stem region (S2).

Nucleotide sequencing of the fusion protein (F) gene of phocid distemper virus-2 (PDV-2), recently isolated from Baikal seals (Phoca sibirica), revealed an open reading frame (nucleotides 84 to 2075) with two potential in-frame ATG translation initiation codons. We suggest that the second in-frame ATG triplet at positions 264 to 266 initiates the translation, resulting in a protein of 537 amino acid residues with a calculated M r of 63035. The putative F1/F2 cleavage site, located approximately 100 amino acid residues from the N terminus, is identical to those of the F proteins of phocid distemper virus-1 (PDV-1) isolated from European harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and of canine distemper virus (CDV). A full scale comparison of morbillivirus F genes reveals that the conserved F0 extracellular protein-encoding region contains a large number of non-expressed mutations, suggesting that this part of the protein is under strong functional constraints. Phylogenetic analysis of morbillivirus F gene nucleotide sequences revealed a closer evolutionary relationship between PDV-2 and CDV than between PDV-1 and PDV-2. These data were supported by cross-reactivity patterns of PDV-2 and CDV obtained with monoclonal antibodies to structural proteins of PDV-1 and CDV, and suggest that PDV-2 is a strain of CDV, resulting from a trans-species infection.

A cotton rat model of experimental human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) infection was used to examine the efficacy of FRHNP, a novel chimeric glycoprotein which contains the extracellular regions of the fusion glycoprotein of RSV and the attachment glycoprotein of PIV-3, as a single subunit vaccine against these two viruses. This work was prompted by previous cotton rat studies that demonstrated that the major protective antigens of the two viruses were these glycoproteins. FRHNP was expressed in insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus. Vaccination with FRHNP resulted in induction of both RSV and PIV-3 neutralizing antibody and doses of 200 ng completely protected rats from either RSV or PIV-3 challenge. These results demonstrate that in the cotton rat animal model a single chimeric glycoprotein can be an effective vaccine against both RSV and PIV-3.

Sequence variation in the attachment glycoprotein G of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) was determined. The nucleotide sequences of the G mRNAs of the A51908, VC464 and FS-1 strains of BRSV were compared with the published sequence of the BRSV strain 391-2. Nucleotide sequence alignment showed that overall they are highly conserved, with 90 to 97% identity. In addition, the coding region of strain A51908 was longer by 18 nucleotides at the 3ʹ end. An 84 to 95% level of identity was observed among the deduced amino acid sequences of the G proteins of BRSV strains. A maximum divergence of 19% was found when the extracellular domains of the G proteins were compared. The level of diversity would be consistent, by analogy to the human respiratory syncytial viruses, with these BRSV strains forming a single subgroup.

The distribution of epitopes defined by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on the surface of canine parvovirus (CPV) virions and recombinant VP2-capsids was established using immunoelectron microscopy. A correlation appeared to exist between the linear position, neutralizing activity and immunogold staining. Both viral capsids and recombinant capsids gave similar patterns of immunostaining. The neutralizing MAbs that recognized epitopes not previously identified by Pepscan or immunoblotting gave a clear staining. However, MAbs 3C9 and 3C10, identified by Pepscan and immunoblotting as recognizing linear epitopes, did not show any labelling (3C9) or only scattered labelling (3C10). MAb 3C9 recognizes an N-terminal domain of VP2. MAb 4AG6, which recognizes the same linear epitope as 3C10, did not bind to the capsids, indicating a different orientation. An immunofluorescence assay was performed to supplement the B cell epitope characterization. In contrast to other MAbs that gave nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, MAb 3C9 gave a preferential nuclear staining. Based on these results, it is hypothesized that the N terminus of VP2 is barely, or not at all, exposed on the surface of the native virions, but becomes accessible after some virion steric change (e.g. after attachment to the cell receptor).

Persistent parvovirus B19 infections in human immuno-deficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients have been reported. The two viruses could share common target cells. The NS1 protein of B19 regulates B19 expression and we have investigated its possible effect on the long terminal repeat (LTR) of HIV-1. In transient transfection experiments, NS1 trans-activated the expression of reporter genes under the control of the HIV-1 LTR. The effect of NS1 was apparent only in the presence of the HIV-1 Tat protein, and required intact TAR and TATA box sequences.

Slowing down of the maturation process of human rotavirus particles on ice allowed the clear demonstration of two different assembly pathways through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. One was the ‘enveloped’ and single-shelled (ss) particle assembly pathway, in which a transient envelope is acquired through the budding of subviral particles from the cytoplasm to the ER lumen, and later these ‘enveloped’ particles are released as ss particles in the ER lumen. The other was a double-shelled particle assembly pathway by which subviral particles acquire the outer capsid proteins during their transport across the ER membrane.

Persistent infection with a variant of influenza C/Ann Arbor/1/50 virus in MDCK cells has been previously reported. However, the precise molecular mechanism of persistence is still unknown. We show that the release of active progeny virus, as tested for by haemagglutination and acetylesterase profiles, does not take place in freshly seeded MDCK cells. Productive virus replication occurs simultaneously with massive production of structural proteins as shown by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence. PCR for the HEF structural protein-encoding segment 4 revealed that positive-sense RNA is present only during virus multiplication whereas negative-sense RNA appears to be constantly detectable. In this study we give initial evidence that influenza C virus can persist in the form of its genomic minus strand RNA, and plus strand transcription, protein synthesis and virus replication remain restricted to productive phases.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against three serotypes of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV): A1 (LWVRT 60-1, U.S.A.), A2 (d'Honnincthun, France) and A9 (Jasper, Canada). Each panel of MAbs (identified as LW, HF and JA) was analysed by ELISA with the 10 proposed serotypes of IPNV and their specificity defined by immunoprecipitation and Western immunoblotting analysis. A first group of MAbs, directed against the outer capsid protein VP2, reacted with linear or conformational epitopes. A second group of MAbs, directed against the internal protein VP3, reacted with linear epitopes. There was no relationship between the neutralizing property of anti-VP2 MAb and the configuration of the epitope that it recognized. The MAbs were used for antigenic characterization of serogroup A. Each panel of MAbs showed a characteristic pattern of reactivity. The European HF series was predominantly cross-reactive and detected conserved epitopes among the 10 serotypes for both VP2 and VP3. The North American LW and JA series identified a group of conserved epitopes on VP3 and new specific epitopes on VP2 and VP3. The higher variability observed for VP2 in comparison with VP3 is one example of how external pressures may promote natural selection of those epitopes required for virus survival. Our results are consistent with an ancestral relationship of the European to the North American strains, the latter having developed new antigenic determinants upon evolution in their new geographical location.

The feasibility of using synthetic peptides for the identification of individual monoclonal antibody (MAb)-defined epitopes was assessed on the basis of a structural model of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus envelope glycoprotein E. For this purpose a series of 19 synthetic peptides was prepared, covering most of the E protein sequence. Each of the peptides was tested by ELISA for reactivity with 19 protein E-specific MAbs raised against TBE virus strain Neudoerfl. Specific reactivity was observed with three MAbs and two peptides (representing amino acids 1 to 22 and 221 to 240, respectively), thus providing new information on the location of the corresponding epitopes. Specificity was confirmed in a competition ELISA by the ability of the peptides to block MAb binding to TBE virus antigen. However, in contrast to the other MAbs, these peptide-reactive MAbs were not blocked by native virus particles in the competition ELISa, indicating that they do not recognize the native conformation of the E protein. These three MAbs also showed increased reactivity with denatured forms of the virus in a dot blot assay. Additionally, they reacted only in ELISA systems in which the virus was directly coated to the solid phase and thereby presumably partially denatured, but not when a capture antibody was used, which preserves the native antigen conformation. We have thus identified two classes of MAbs, those which recognize the native form and those which recognize the denatured form of protein E. The latter may be useful for the analysis of sites probably involved in protein folding and oligomerization.

Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) nucleic acids accumulate in the cell in different structural conformations related to their roles in gene expression, replication and virion assembly. We have characterized changes in the population CaMV DNA and RNA replication products which occur following culture of infected turnip leaves under conditions where callus proliferates. After only 5 days in culture, a significant increase in the level of genome-length and subgenomic supercoiled (SC) DNA forms was observed by two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis. Open circular (OC) molecules, corresponding to these SC DNAs, with mobilities consistent with the presence of a single break in each strand, were also detected after 5 days culture. By 10 days culture, the proportion of OC molecules with only one break per double-stranded molecule had increased. After 34 days culture, SC DNA with a range of sizes predominated in the unencapsidated DNA fraction. The change in pattern of OC and SC DNA forms during callus proliferation suggests a possible precursor/product relationship involving generation of deleted molecules from gap-containing virion DNA-like molecules followed by sequential repair of the gaps to produce SC DNA. Moreover, heterogeneity in the mobility of OC DNAs in the neutral dimension of 2D electrophoresis, a feature exhibited by twisted CaMV virion DNA, changed during the time-course suggesting that untwisting occurs during gap repair. Although the relative abundance of SC DNA increased during callus proliferation, CaMV polyadenylated 35S and 19S transcripts declined together with immediate reverse transcription products. We suggest that cellular changes during callus growth lead to a decline in authentic CaMV transcripts in the cytoplasm resulting in cessation of synthesis of viral products and progeny DNA genomes. In consequence, pre-existing virion DNAs return to the nucleus, possibly as a result of a relaxation in a cytoplasmic control mechanism, where they are assembled into various forms of SC DNA. The presence of CaMV SC DNAs in replicating cells might also enhance illegitimate integration into host chromosomes, as hybridization of CaMV DNA to high M r DNA was observed.

During an infection with cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) both virion assembly and formation of tubules associated with plasmodesmata are required for cell-to-cell movement. These functions are encoded by the M-RNA of CPMV. To study the mechanism of CPMV movement, mutant N123 was used in complementation studies with sunn-hemp mosaic virus (SHMV), a legume-infecting tobamovirus. Previous studies have shown that N123 fails to spread in cowpea plants because of mutation(s) in its M-RNA. However, the mutant was efficiently replicated in cowpea protoplasts, in which virions were formed and tubular transport structures were induced. After high-dose inoculation of cowpeas with N123, only a few infected protoplasts could be isolated, indicating that cell-to-cell transport of N123 was greatly impaired, if not completely abolished. Upon coinoculation with SHMV, mutant N123 infected cowpea plants systemically and accumulated to levels which were comparable to those of wild-type CPMV. In contrast, separate B-RNA of CPMV and a CPMV deletion mutant lacking the tubule-inducing function, were complemented by SHMV to only low levels. It is concluded that SHMV-facilitated spread of CPMV in the non-virion tobamovirus mode is inefficient and that spread of mutant N123 is probably in the CPMV mode, SHMV providing an as yet unidentified helper function.

Sunn-hemp mosaic tobamovirus (SHMV) facilitated the spread of the cowpea strain of southern bean sobemovirus (SBMV-C) only in inoculated leaves of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Bountiful), a resistant host for SBMV-C. Tissue prints of bean primary leaves doubly inoculated with SHMV and SBMV-C, developed by Western blotting, showed the presence of the SBMV-C capsid antigen in the mesophyll and epidermis, but no antigen was detected in the conducting bundles. Typical SBMV-C virions were not seen in electron micrographs of immunogold-labelled mesophyll cells; instead, specifically labelled, amorphous protein clumps were found in the vacuole. Particles of smaller diameter than that of typical SBMV-C virions were specifically trapped by SBMV antibodies following immunosorbent electron microscopy of extracts from doubly infected leaves. SBMV-C coat protein from infected Vigna unguiculata L. (cowpea) and bean plants showed no difference in its mobility following electrophoresis in denaturing SDS–polyacrylamide gels. Lack of efficient assembly of SBMV-C virions does not impede cell-to-cell movement of the virus in doubly infected leaves of bean, yet it is probably an important factor in determining the inability of SBMV-C to move into and/or through the vascular system of this host.

We describe here a convenient and efficient system for studying turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) replication in leaf protoplasts. Inoculation of rapeseed (Brassica napus ) or Chinese cabbage (B. sinensis ) protoplasts was achieved via electroporation, and sensitive detection of viral RNA products was performed by Northern blot analyses using a non-radioactive digoxigenin-labelled cDNA probe. Virus replication was detected when 1.5×106 rapeseed protoplasts were inoculated with 20 ng of TYMV RNA. Electrotransfection of TYMV RNA was more efficient in rapeseed than in Chinese cabbage protoplasts, and gave somewhat higher signals than those of TYMV virions. TYMV RNA appeared to replicate equally well whether the protoplasts were incubated in the dark or under constant light.

The full-length transcript of grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) RNA2 produces a primary product of 122K when translated in the rabbit reticulocyte system. This 122K polyprotein is completely processed in vitro by the RNA1-encoded 24K proteinase. The positions of the cleavage sites within the polyprotein have been mapped and the genome organization of GFLV-F13 RNA2 has been established. The order of mature proteins in the 122K polyprotein is the amino-terminal 28K protein, the 38K protein followed by the 56K coat protein at the carboxy terminus. These proteins represent the final cleavage products of the 122K polyprotein. A 66K protein which yields 28K and 38K proteins constitutes the major maturation intermediate. Microsequencing of the amino extremity of radioactively labelled 38K protein allowed identification of the Cys257/Ala258 site as the cleavage site recognized by the GFLV proteinase between the 28K and the 38K proteins in the 66K protein in addition to the Arg605/Gly606 site between the 38K protein and the coat protein.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genome of an apple isolate of apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV-A) was determined. The genome is 7552 nucleotides excluding the poly(A) tail and contains three open reading frames (ORFs 1, 2 and 3), encoding proteins with M r values of 216503 (216∙5K), 50453 (50∙4K) and 21394 (21∙4K), respectively. Nucleotide sequence comparisons between ACLSV-A and the previously sequenced ACLSV from plum (ACLSV-P) showed that the sequence identity at the nucleotide level was 79∙8%. Amino acid sequence identities of ORFs 1 and 2 between both isolates were 88∙4% and 79∙9%, respectively. The 21.4K protein encoded by ORF 3 of ACLSV-A had an amino acid sequence identity of 88∙6% with the 28∙3K protein encoded by ORF 3 of ACLSV-P. Immunoblot analysis of the 21∙4K protein expressed in Escherichia coli showed that this protein is the coat protein of ACLSV-A.

The complete genomic sequence of cardamine chlorotic fleck carmovirus (CCFV) has been determined. The genome is a positive-sense ssRNA molecule 4041 nucleotides in length, and has 47 to 64% sequence identity with turnip crinkle, carnation mottle and melon necrotic spot carmoviruses. CCFV and these other carmoviruses have four similar open reading frames (ORFs), and CCFV has large regions of amino acid identity in all of these ORFs with a European isolate of turnip crinkle virus. CCFV, which replicates well in Arabidopsis thaliana, has only been found so far in Australia in the wild perennial brassica Cardamine lilacina.