Novel protein kinase interacts with the Cucumber mosaic virus 1a methyltransferase domain

The Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-encoded 1a protein has been implicated to play a role in replication of the viral genome along with 2a and one or more host factors. To identify the host cell factors interacting with CMV 1a, we used the yeast two-hybrid system using tobacco cDNA library. One of the cDNA clones encoded a protein homologous to the Arabidopsis putative protein kinase and was designated as Tcoi2 (Tobacco CMV 1a interacting protein 2). Tcoi2 specifically interacted with methyltransferase (MT) domain of CMV 1a protein in yeast cell. In vitro analyses using recombinant proteins showed that Tcoi2 also specifically interacted with CMV 1a MT domain. Tcoi2 did not have autophosphorylation activity but phosphorylated CMV 1a MT domain. Analysis of the subcellular localization of the Tcoi2 fused to GFP demonstrated that it is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum. These results suggest Tcoi2 as a novel host factor that is capable of interacting and phosphorylating MT domain of CMV 1a protein.     

Yeast mRNA cap methyltransferase is a 50-kilodalton protein encoded by an essential gene.

RNA (guanine-7-)methyltransferase, the enzyme responsible for methylating the 5' cap structure of eukaryotic mRNA, was isolated from extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast enzyme catalyzed methyl group transfer from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the guanosine base of capped, unmethylated poly(A). Cap methylation was stimulated by low concentrations of salt and was inhibited by S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine, a presumptive product of the reaction, but not by S-adenosyl-D-homocysteine. The methyltransferase sedimented in a glycerol gradient as a single discrete component of 3.2S. A likely candidate for the gene encoding yeast cap methyltransferase was singled out on phylogenetic grounds. The ABD1 gene, located on yeast chromosome II, encodes a 436-amino-acid (50-kDa) polypeptide that displays regional similarity to the catalytic domain of the vaccinia virus cap methyltransferase. That the ABD1 gene product is indeed RNA (guanine-7-)methyltransferase was established by expressing the ABD1 protein in bacteria, purifying the protein to homogeneity, and characterizing the cap methyltransferase activity intrinsic to recombinant ABD1. The physical and biochemical properties of recombinant ABD1 methyltransferase were indistinguishable from those of the cap methyltransferase isolated and partially purified from whole-cell yeast extracts. Our finding that the ABD1 gene is required for yeast growth provides the first genetic evidence that a cap methyltransferase (and, by inference, the cap methyl group) plays an essential role in cellular function in vivo.     

Virus-specific interaction between the human cytomegalovirus major capsid protein and the C terminus of the assembly protein precursor.

We previously identified a minimal 12-amino-acid domain in the C terminus of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) scaffolding protein which is required for interaction with the HSV-1 major capsid protein. An alpha-helical structure which maximizes the hydropathicity of the minimal domain is required for the interaction. To address whether cytomegalovirus (CMV) utilizes the same strategy for capsid assembly, several glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins to the C terminus of the CMV assembly protein precursor were produced and purified from bacterial cells. The study showed that the glutathione S-transferase fusion containing 16 amino acids near the C-terminal end was sufficient to interact with the major capsid protein. Interestingly, no cross-interaction between HSV-1 and CMV could be detected. Mutation analysis revealed that a three-amino-acid region at the N-terminal side of the central Phe residue of the CMV interaction domain played a role in determining the viral specificity of the interaction. When this region was converted so as to correspond to that of HSV-1, the CMV assembly protein domain lost its ability to interact with the CMV major capsid protein but gained full interaction with the HSV-1 major capsid protein. To address whether the minimal interaction domain of the CMV assembly protein forms an alpha-helical structure similar to that in HSV-1, peptide competition experiments were carried out. The results showed that a cyclic peptide derived from the interaction domain with a constrained (alpha-helical structure competed for interaction with the major capsid protein much more efficiently than the unconstrained linear peptide. In contrast, a cyclic peptide containing an Ala substitution for the critical Phe residue did not compete for the interaction at all. The results of this study suggest that (i) CMV may have developed a strategy similar to that of HSV-1 for capsid assembly; (ii) the minimal interaction motif in the CMV assembly protein requires an alpha-helix for efficient interaction with the major capsid protein; and (iii) the Phe residue in the CMV minimal interaction domain is critical for interaction with the major capsid protein.     

应用RNAi技术培育抗2种病毒病的转基因烟草

分别提取烟草普通花叶病(TMV)和烟草黄瓜花叶病（CMV）的病毒RNA。经反转录和外壳蛋白阅读框PCR扩增,获得TMV和CMV外壳蛋白基因cDNA, 分别进行两种病毒已知株系cDNA序列比对获得各自的保守序列,设计干涉序列,将干涉片段扩增产物连接到pMD18-T的相邻酶切位点,制备融合序列,并将其正向和反向序列插入pUCCRNAi载体,再转化到pCAMBIA2300-35S-OCS表达载体中。利用农杆菌LBA4404侵染烟草K326,获得3份含有TMV和CMV外壳蛋白基因干涉序列的转化材料,经分子鉴定证实干涉序列已导入烟草,并采用荧光定量PCR技术对其mRNA表达差异进行分析。抗病性调查表明转化烟株对TMV和CMV抗性都显著增强。     

A zinc finger protein Tsip1 controls Cucumber mosaic virus infection by interacting with the replication complex on vacuolar membranes of the tobacco plant

? In Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) RNA replication, replicase-associated protein CMV 1a and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein CMV 2a are essential for formation of an active virus replicase complex on vacuolar membranes. ? To identify plant host factors involved in CMV replication, a yeast two-hybrid system was used with CMV 1a protein as bait. One of the candidate genes encoded Tsi1-interacting protein 1 (Tsip1), a zinc (Zn) finger protein. Tsip1 strongly interacted with CMV 2a protein, too. ? Formation of a Tsip1 complex involving CMV 1a or CMV 2a was confirmed in vitro and in planta. When 35S::Tsip1 tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants were inoculated with CMV-Kor, disease symptom development was delayed and the accumulation of CMV RNAs and coat protein was decreased in both the infected local leaves and the uninfected upper leaves, compared with the wild type, whereas Tsip1-RNAi plants showed modestly but consistently increased CMV susceptibility. In a CMV replication assay, CMV RNA concentrations were reduced in the 35S::Tsip1 transgenic protoplasts compared with wild-type (WT) protoplasts. ? These results indicate that Tsip1 might directly control CMV multiplication in tobacco plants by formation of a complex with CMV 1a and CMV 2a.     

Interaction of tomato mosaic virus movement protein with tobacco RIO kinase

Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) has a regulatory gene encoding a movement protein (MP) that is involved in the cell-to-cell movement of viral RNA through plasmodesmata. To identify the host cell factors interacting with ToMV MP, we used a recombinant MP probe to isolate cDNA clones from a phage expression library of Nicotiana tabacum by a far-Western screening method. One of the cDNA clones encoded an MP-interacting protein, MIP-T7, homologous to the yeast novel protein kinase, Rio1p. We isolated a full-length cDNA by RT-PCR. The putative gene product was designated NtRIO, and shared 33 and 73% amino acid identity with yeast and Arabidopsis RIO kinases, respectively. In vitro analyses using recombinant proteins showed that NtRIO also interacted with a different MP derived from Cucumber mosaic virus. NtRIO had autophosphorylation activity and phosphorylated ToMV MP. Addition of recombinant tobacco casein kinase 2 resulted in a marked increase in the phosphorylation of NtRIO. The interaction between NtRIO and ToMV MP was inhibited by phosphorylation of NtRIO.     

Properties of a tobacco DNA methyltransferase, NtMET1 and its involvement in chromatin movement during cell division

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Plants possess three types of DNA methyltransferase, among which methyltransferase type 1 (MET1) is considered to play a major role by maintaining the CpG methylation patterns. However, little information is available as to its enzymatic activity, interacting proteins and spatial and temporal behaviours during DNA replication. In the present study, one example, NtMET1 from tobacco plants, was selected and an analysis was made of its biochemical properties and cellular localization. METHODS: NtMET1 was expressed in Sf9 insect cells, and a purified sample was subjected to a standard in vitro methylation assay. Intramolecular interaction was examined by the yeast two-hybrid and pull-down assays. Transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) over-expressing NtMET1 were constructed via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Cellular localization was examined by fluorescence protein fusion, which was expressed in tobacco bright yellow 2 cells. KEY RESULTS: In vitro assays showed no detectable methylation activity when both hemimethylated and unmethylated DNA samples were used as the substrate. In planta assays with over-expressing transgenic lines showed no hypermethylation but rather hypomethylation of genomc DNA. The inability of methylation was conceivably due to a tight intramolecular interaction between the N- and C-terminal regions with the catalytic domain residing on the C-terminus being completely masked. Cellular localization analyses indicated that NtMET1 localized to the nucleus in the resting stage and migrates to the cytoplasm during mitosis, particularly at metaphase. The pattern observed resembled that of Ran GTPase, and in vitro pull-down assays showed a clear interaction between NtMET1 and AtRAN3, an Arabidopsis orthologue of tobacco Ran GTPase, NtRan-A1. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that enzymatic activity of NtMET1 is well adjusted by its own intra/intermolecular interaction and perhaps by interactions with other proteins, one of which was found to be Ran GTPase. Results also revealed that NtMET1 becomes localized to the vicinity of chromatin with the aid of Ran GTPase during cell division, and may play an important role in progress through mitosis independently of methylation activity.     

Phosphorylation of cucumber mosaic virus RNA polymerase 2a protein inhibits formation of replicase complex

The 2a (polymerase) protein of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was shown to be phosphorylated both in vivo and in vitro. In vitro assays using 2a protein mutants and tobacco protein kinases showed that the 2a protein has at least three phosphorylation sites, one of which is located within the N-terminal 126 amino acid region. This region is essential and sufficient for interaction with the CMV 1a protein. When phosphorylated in vitro, the 2a protein N-terminal region failed to interact with the 1a protein. Since the 1a-2a interaction is essential for the replication of CMV, this suggests that phosphorylation of the N-terminal region of the 2a protein negatively modulates the interaction in vivo, and may have a regulatory role acting directly in viral infection.     

Interactions between the Structural Domains of the RNA Replication Proteins of Plant-Infecting RNA Viruses

Brome mosaic virus (BMV), a positive-strand RNA virus, encodes two replication proteins: the 2a protein, which contains polymerase-like sequences, and the 1a protein, with N-terminal putative capping and C-terminal helicase-like sequences. These two proteins are part of a multisubunit complex which is necessary for viral RNA replication. We have previously shown that the yeast two-hybrid assay consistently duplicated results obtained from in vivo RNA replication assays and biochemical assays of protein-protein interaction, thus permitting the identification of additional interacting domains. We now map an interaction found to take place between two 1a proteins. Using previously characterized 1a mutants, a perfect correlation was found between the in vivo phenotypes of these mutants and their abilities to interact with wild-type 1a (wt1a) and each other. Western blot analysis revealed that the stabilities of many of the noninteracting mutant proteins were similar to that of wt1a. Deletion analysis of 1a revealed that the N-terminal 515 residues of the 1a protein are required and sufficient for 1a-1a interaction. This intermolecular interaction between the putative capping domain and itself was detected in another tripartite RNA virus, cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), suggesting that the 1a-1a interaction is a feature necessary for the replication of tripartite RNA viruses. The boundaries for various activities are placed in the context of the predicted secondary structures of several 1a-like proteins of members of the alphavirus-like superfamily. Additionally, we found a novel interaction between the putative capping and helicase-like portions of the BMV and CMV 1a proteins. Our cumulative data suggest a working model for the assembly of the BMV RNA replicase.     

Helper component‐proteinase enhances the activity of 1‐deoxy‐D‐xylulose‐5‐phosphate synthase and promotes the biosynthesis of plastidic isoprenoids in Potato virus Y‐infected tobacco

Virus‐infected plants show strong morphological and physiological alterations. Many physiological processes in chloroplast are affected, including the plastidic isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway [the 2C‐methyl‐D‐erythritol‐4‐phosphate (MEP) pathway]; indeed, isoprenoid contents have been demonstrated to be altered in virus‐infected plants. In this study, we found that the levels of photosynthetic pigments and abscisic acid (ABA) were altered in Potato virus Y (PVY)‐infected tobacco. Using yeast two‐hybrid assays, we demonstrated an interaction between virus protein PVY helper component‐proteinase (HC‐Pro) and tobacco chloroplast protein 1‐deoxy‐D‐xylulose‐5‐phosphate synthase (NtDXS). This interaction was confirmed using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays and pull‐down assays. The Transket_pyr domain (residues 394–561) of NtDXS was required for interaction with HC‐Pro, while the N‐terminal region of HC‐Pro (residues 1–97) was necessary for interaction with NtDXS. Using in vitro enzyme activity assays, PVY HC‐Pro was found to promote the synthase activity of NtDXS. We observed increases in photosynthetic pigment contents and ABA levels in transgenic plants with HC‐Pro accumulating in the chloroplasts. During virus infection, the enhancement of plastidic isoprenoid biosynthesis was attributed to the enhancement of DXS activity by HC‐Pro. Our study reveals a new role of HC‐Pro in the host plant metabolic system and will contribute to the study of host–virus relationships.     

Different isoforms of PRIP-interacting protein with methyltransferase domain/trimethylguanosine synthase localizes to the cytoplasm and nucleus

A protein family including the recently identified PIMT/Tgs1 (PRIP-interacting protein with methyltransferase domain/trimethylguanosine synthase) was identified by searching databases for homologues of a newly identified Drosophila protein with RNA-binding activity and methyltransferase domain. Antibodies raised against a short peptide of the mammalian homologue show a 90-kDa isoform expressed specifically in rat brain and testis and a 55-kDa form expressed ubiquitously. In HeLa cells, the larger isoform of the protein is nuclear and associated with a 600-kDa complex, while the smaller isoform is mainly cytoplasmic and co-localizes to the tubulin network. Inhibition of PIMT/Tgs1 expression by siRNA in HeLa cells resulted in an increase in the percentage of cells in G2/M phases. In yeast two-hybrid and in vitro GST pull down experiments, the conserved C-terminal region of PIMT/Tgs1 interacted with the WD domain containing EED/WAIT-1 that acts as a polycomb-type repressor in the nucleus and also binds to integrins in the cytoplasm. Our experiments, together with earlier data, indicate that isoforms of the PIMT/Tgs1 protein with an RNA methyltransferase domain function both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm and associate with both elements of the cytoskeletal network and nuclear factors known to be involved in gene regulation.     

CMV抑制PVYN CP基因沉默及其介导的抗病性

以前曾报道用RNA介导的抗病毒策略,获得了高度抗病的表达马铃薯Y病毒坏死株系外壳蛋白基因(PVY^N CP)的转基因烟草,并对T1、T2代转基因植株进行了遗传和抗病性分析。此次以T,代转基因植株为试验材料,在筛选高度抗病植株并证明其抗病性是基于转基因沉默的基础上,采用Northern杂交的方法,证明CMV侵染抑制了转基因植株中PVY^N CP基因的沉默,而且CMV对PVY^N CP基因沉默的抑制部位是发生在接种后的新生叶上,接种叶及其下部叶片中PVY^N CP基因沉默则未受到影响。采用ELISA方法对CMV PVY^N复合接种的转基因植株进行PVY^N检测,结果表明,接种叶及下部叶没有检测到PVY^N,植株叶片对PVY^N表现为抗病。而在CMV接种后植株新生叶中则检测出了高滴度的PVY^N,植株叶片对PVY^N表现为感病。该文报道了在表达PVY^N CP基因的RNA介导抗性转基因植株中,异源病毒侵染抑制了转基因的沉默,并导致转基因植株的抗病性丧失。     

Charge-based interaction conserved within histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferase complexes is needed for protein stability, histone methylation, and gene expression

Histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferases are conserved from yeast to humans, assemble in multisubunit complexes, and are needed to regulate gene expression. The yeast H3K4 methyltransferase complex, Set1 complex or complex of proteins associated with Set1 (COMPASS), consists of Set1 and conserved Set1-associated proteins: Swd1, Swd2, Swd3, Spp1, Bre2, Sdc1, and Shg1. The removal of the WD40 domain-containing subunits Swd1 and Swd3 leads to a loss of Set1 protein and consequently a complete loss of H3K4 methylation. However, until now, how these WD40 domain-containing proteins interact with Set1 and contribute to the stability of Set1 and H3K4 methylation has not been determined. In this study, we identified small basic and acidic patches that mediate protein interactions between the C terminus of Swd1 and the nSET domain of Set1. Absence of either the basic or acidic patches of Set1 and Swd1, respectively, disrupts the interaction between Set1 and Swd1, diminishes Set1 protein levels, and abolishes H3K4 methylation. Moreover, these basic and acidic patches are also important for cell growth, telomere silencing, and gene expression. We also show that the basic and acidic patches of Set1 and Swd1 are conserved in their human counterparts SET1A/B and RBBP5, respectively, and are needed for the protein interaction between SET1A and RBBP5. Therefore, this charge-based interaction is likely important for maintaining the protein stability of the human SET1A/B methyltransferase complexes so that proper H3K4 methylation, cell growth, and gene expression can also occur in mammals.