Citrus leaf blotch virus (CLBV), a member of the family Flexiviridae, has a ~9-kb single-stranded, positive-sense genomic RNA encapsidated by a 41-kDa coat protein. CLBV isolates are associated with symptom production in citrus including leaf blotching of Dweet tangor and stem pitting in Etrog citron (Dweet mottle disease), and some isolates are associated with bud union crease on trifoliate rootstocks, but Koch's postulates for this virus were not fulfilled. A full-genome cDNA of CLBV isolate SRA-153, which induces bud union crease, was placed under the T7 promoter (clone T7-CLBV), or between the 35S promoter and the Nos-t terminator, with or without a ribozyme sequence downstream of the CLBV sequence (clones 35SRbz-CLBV and 35S-CLBV). RNA transcripts from T7-CLBV failed to infect Etrog citron and Nicotiana occidentalis and N. benthamiana plants, whereas agro-inoculation with binary vectors carrying 35SRbz-CLBV or 35S-CLBV, and the p19 silencing suppressor, caused systemic infection and production of normal CLBV virions. Virus accumulation was similar in citron plants directly agro-infiltrated, or mechanically inoculated with wild-type or 35SRbz-CLBV-derived virions from Nicotiana, and the three sources incited the symptoms characteristic of Dweet mottle disease, but not bud union crease. Our results show that (1) virions derived from an infectious clone show the same replication, movement and pathogenicity characteristics as the wild-type CLBV; (2) CLBV is the causal agent of Dweet mottle disease but not of the bud union crease syndrome; and (3) for the first time an RNA virus could be successfully agro-inoculated on citrus plants. This infectious clone may become a useful viral vector for citrus genomic studies.
Citrus psorosis virus (CPsV), genus Ophiovirus, causes a bark scaling disease of citrus. CPsV virions are kinked filaments with three negative-stranded RNA molecules (vRNA) and a 48 kDa coat protein. The effect of temperature on symptom expression, virus accumulation and RNA silencing was examined in sweet orange seedlings (Citrus sinensis) graft-inoculated with three different CPsV isolates and grown in a glasshouse at 26 ⁄ 18°C or 32⁄ 26°C (day⁄ night). Most plants kept in the cooler glasshouse showed a shock reaction in the first flush with shoot necrosis, and then moderate to intense chlorotic flecking and spotting in young leaves, whereas plants incubated at 32 ⁄ 26°C did not exhibit shoot necrosis, and young leaf symptoms were milder. Virus titre estimated by ELISA and by northern and dot blot hybridization paralleled symptom intensity, with significantly higher virus accumulation in plants incubated at 26 ⁄ 18°C. The amount of CPsV-derived small RNAs (CPsV-sRNAs) slightly increased at 32 ⁄ 26°C, with the ratio of CPsV-sRNA ⁄ vRNA being higher at 32 ⁄ 26°C than at 26 ⁄ 18°C. These results suggest that (i) CPsV infection induces RNA silencing in citrus plants, (ii) symptom intensity is associated with virus accumulation, and (iii) temperature increase enhances the RNA silencing response of citrus plants and decreases virus accumulation.
Citrus leaf blotch virus has a single-stranded positive-sense genomic RNA (gRNA) of 8747 nt organized in three open reading frames (ORFs). The ORF1, encoding a polyprotein involved in replication, is translated directly from the gRNA, whereas ORFs encoding the movement (MP) and coat (CP) proteins are expressed via 3' coterminal subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs). We characterized the minimal promoter region critical for the CP-sgRNA expression in infected cells by deletion analyses using Agrobacterium-mediated infection of Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The minimal CP-sgRNA promoter was mapped between nucleotides -67 and +50 nt around the transcription start site. Surprisingly, larger deletions in the region between the CP-sgRNA transcription start site and the CP translation initiation codon resulted in increased CP-sgRNA accumulation, suggesting that this sequence could modulate the CP-sgRNA transcription. Site-specific mutational analysis of the transcription start site revealed that the +1 guanylate and the +2 adenylate are important for CP-sgRNA synthesis.
To counteract plant antiviral defense based on RNA silencing, many viruses express proteins that inhibit this mechanism at different levels. The genome of Citrus leaf blotch virus (CLBV) encodes a 227-kDa protein involved in replication, a 40-kDa movement protein (MP), and a 41-kDa coat protein (CP). To determine if any of these proteins might have RNA silencing suppressor activities, we have used Agrobacterium-mediated transient assays in the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c. Only CLBV MP was able to suppress intracellular GFP silencing induced by expression of either single- or double-stranded (ds) GFP RNA, but not cell-to-cell or long distance spread of the silencing signal. The MP suppressor activity was weak compared to other characterized viral suppressor proteins. Overall our data indicate that MP acts as a suppressor of local silencing probably by interfering in the silencing pathway downstream of the steps of dsRNA and small RNAs generation.
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