Molecular cloning and characterisation of the two DNA components of tomato golden mosaic virus.

We report the molecular cloning of the tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) genome in the E. coli plasmid pAT 153. The results of this work conclusively show that TGMV DNA consists of two components (designated A and B) of almost, but not exactly, the same size. Four different recombinant plasmids are described, two containing component A in opposite orientation and two containing component B in opposite orientation. Southern blot analysis revealed little sequence homology between A and B and showed both components to be equally represented in viral and intracellular DNA forms. Detailed restriction maps of the cloned DNAs are presented, and a comparison of these with digests of intracellular viral dsDNA indicates that the former are full-length faithful copies of TGMV DNA. This is the first report of the cloning of a geminivirus genome.     

The behaviour of tomato golden mosaic virus DNA in cultured cells isolated from systemically infected tobacco leaves

When callus tissue was cultured from leaf pieces taken from a Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi nc. plant systemically infected with tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV), TGMV-specific DNA persisted for up to 6 months in culture. Analysis of TGMV-specific intracellular DNA forms indicated a decrease in double-stranded relative to single-stranded forms and an increase in sub-genomic relative to genomic single-stranded DNA species in the callus tissue compared to those in the original leaf explant. The implications of the results with regard to TGMV replication are discussed.     

Characterisation of cauliflower mosaic virus DNA forms isolated from infected turnip leaves.

Several different forms of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) DNA were detected in nucleic acid preparations from CaMV-infected turnip leaves. As well as supercoiled and open-circular molecules, various linear DNA structures were identified. The relative amounts of these DNA forms varied in plants infected with different CaMV isolates. Restriction enzyme mapping and one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of linear molecules apparently formed by breaks in the second strand at each of the three discontinuities. Two major linear DNA forms are double-stranded over part of their length and appear to have single-stranded extensions of the -strand of variable length. Since these DNA forms are not produced during extraction and probably exist as unencapsidated or partially encapsidated molecules, they may represent intermediates either in DNA replication or in virion assembly.     

Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation of plants with tomato golden mosaic virus DNAs

We have adapted the agroinfection procedure of Grimsley and co-workers [4,5] to develop a simple, efficient, reproducible infectivity assay for the insect-transmitted, split-genome geminivirus, tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV). Agrobacterium T-DNA vectors provide efficient delivery of both components of TGMV when used in mixed inoculation of wild-type host plants. A greater increase in infection efficiency can be obtained by Agrobacterium delivery of the TGMV A component to permissive transgenic plants. These permissive plants contain multiple tandem copies of the B component integrated into the host genome. An inoculum containing as few as 2000 Agrobacterium cells can produce 100% infection under these conditions. Further, our results show that there is a marked effect of the configuration of the TGMV A components within the T-DNA vector on time of symptom development. We have also found that transgenic plants carrying tandem copies of the A component do not complement the B component. Possible mechanisms to explain these results and the potential use of this system to further study the functions of the geminivirus components in infection are discussed.     

Negatively supercoiled DNA from plants infected with a single-stranded DNA virus

A method for isolating covalently closed circular double-stranded DNA from plants infected with the geminivirus, tomato golden mosaic virus, is described. Ethidium bromide titration showed this DNA to be negatively supercoiled with a superhelical density of -0.062. The presence of S1 nuclease-sensitive secondary structure in the supercoiled DNA was demonstrated by its conversion to the open circular and linear DNA forms on treatment with this enzyme.     

Identification of novel DNA forms in tomato golden mosaic virus infected tissue. Evidence for a two component viral genome.

Extracts obtained from cells infected with the geminivirus tomato golden mosaic (TGMV) are shown to contain, in addition to viral single-stranded DNA, several novel species of virus-specific single- and double- stranded DNA (ss and ds DNA). The results of nuclease studies and electron microscopy suggest that three of the intracellular DNAs are unit-genome length duplexes of closed circular, relaxed circular, and linear form. The remaining ds DNA species are of high molecular weight and appear to be concatamers consisting of two or more unit-length circular ds TGMV DNA resulted in fragments whose combined size is twice the unit-genome length. Thus ds TGMV is composed of two components of nearly identical size but different nucleotide sequence.     

Independent encapsidation of tomato golden mosaic virus A component DNA in transgenic plants

Tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV), a member of the geminivirus group, has a genome consisting of two DNA molecules designated the A and B components. Both are required for infectivity in healthy plants, although the former has been shown to replicate independently in transgenic plants containing tandem direct repeats of the A genome component. In the studies presented here, petunia plants transgenic for either both components (A×B hybrids) or the A component alone were examined for the presence of virus particles and encapsidated, single stranded viral DNA. The results of DNase protection experiments and direct observation of extracts from transgenic plants by electron microscopy indicate that single stranded TGMV DNA is in both cases packaged into paired particles identical to those obtained from virus-infected plants. DNase-treated virions isolated from A×B hybrid petunia are infectious when inoculated onto healthy Nicotiana benthamiana. Likewise, virions obtained from transgenic A petunia are infectious for plants transgenic for the B component.Our observations of TGMV replication in transgenic plants indicate that TGMV A DNA encodes all viral functions necessary for the replication and encapsidation of viral DNA. The possible role of the B component in TGMV replication is discussed.     

DNA methylation inhibits propagation of tomato golden mosaic virus DNA in transfected protoplasts

The effects of methylation on plant viral DNA replication have been studied inNicotiana tabacum protoplasts transfected with DNA of the geminivirus tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV). The transfected cells were also used to determine whether experimentally introduced methylation patterns are maintained in extrachromosomal viral DNA. Replacement of cytosine residues with 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) reduced the amount of viral DNA which accumulated in transfected protoplasts. The reduction was observed whether m⁵C residues were substituted for cytosine residuesin vitro in either the viral strand or the complementary strand of double-stranded circular inoculum DNAs containing tandemly repeated copies of the A component of the TGMV genome. Both limited and extensive cytosine methylation of TGMV DNA sequencesin vitro was not propagated in progeny viral DNA. The absence of detectable maintenance-type methylation of the transfecting TGMV DNA sequences may be related to the lack of methylation observed in double-stranded TGMV DNA isolated from infected plants.     

Response of tomato plants infected with cucumber mosaic virus to foliar sprays of gibberellic acid

The effect of spraying tomato plants infected with cucumbermosaic virus (CMV) with gibberellic acid (GA) 1 and 5 ppm hasbeen studied in a glasshouse. Measurements showed that the differencein size between GA-treated healthy and infected plants eitherdisappeared or became insignificant and this was true at bothhigh and low planes of nutrition. Virus content was not reducedby GA. Virusinduced checks to leaf production and stem elongationtended to disappear in unsprayed plants but leaf area and shootweight did not show natural recovery. The stimulating effectof GA was primarily on leaf expansion and secondarily on shootweight.     

Molecular characterisation of the full-length genome of olive latent virus 1 isolated from tomato

Olive latent virus 1 (OLV-1) is a species of the Necrovirus genus. So far, it has been reported to infect olive, citrus tree and tulip. Here, we determined and analysed the complete genomic sequence of an isolate designated as CM1, which was collected from tomato plant in the Wielkopolska region of Poland and represents the prevalent isolate of OLV-1. The CM1 genome consists of monopartite single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome sized 3,699 nt with five open reading frames (ORFs) and small inter-cistronic regions. ORF1 encodes a polypeptide with a molecular weight of 23 kDa and the read-through (RT) of its amber stop codon results in ORF1 RT that encodes the virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. ORF2 and ORF3 encode two peptides, with 8 kDa and 6 kDa, respectively, which appear to be involved in cell-to-cell movement. ORF4 is located in the 3′ terminal and encodes a protein with 30 kDa identified as the viral coat protein (CP). The differences in CP region of four OLV-1 isolates whose sequences have been deposited in GenBank were observed. Nucleotide sequence identities of the CP of tomato CM1 isolate with those of olive, citrus and tulip isolates were 91.8%, 89.5% and 92.5%, respectively. In contrast to other OLV-1 isolates, CM1 induced necrotic spots on tomato plants and elicited necrotic local lesions on Nicotiana benthamiana, followed by systemic infection. This is the third complete genomic sequence of OLV-1 reported and the first one from tomato.     

In vitro synthesis of double-stranded DNA from the Kilham rat virus single-stranded DNA genome.

Double-stranded, full-length linear DNA was synthesized in vitro by using single-stranded linear DNA as a self-priming template from the parvovirus Kilham rat virus and Escherichia coli DNA polymerase "large fragment" as the polymerizing enzyme. To ascertain the order of the synthesis of the cleavage fragments and to assess the accuracy of the in vitro synthesis, restriction endonuclease cleavage sites with known recognition sequences were mapped on the DNA. Comparing the cleavage pattern of the synthesized DNA with that of double-stranded viral DNA isolated from infected cells confirms that the in vitro synthesis produces a faithful copy of the viral single-stranded genome. Electron micrographs of the in vitro product reveal it to be a double-stranded linear molecule.     

DNA sequences essential for replication of the B genome component of tomato golden mosaic virus.

The genome of the geminivirus tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) is divided between two DNA components, designated A and B, which differ in sequence except for a 230-nucleotide common region. The A genome component is known to encode viral functions necessary for viral DNA replication, while the B genome component specifies functions necessary for spread of the virus through the infected plant. To identify cis-acting sequences required for viral DNA replication, several mutants were constructed by the introduction of small insertions into TGMV B at selected sites within and just outside the common region. Other mutants had the common region inverted or deleted. All of the mutants were tested for their effects on infectivity and DNA replication in whole plants and leaf discs. Our results indicate that the common region in its correct orientation is required for infectivity and for replication of TGMV B. Furthermore, the conserved hairpin loop sequence located within the TGMV common region and found in all geminiviruses is necessary for DNA replication, and may be part of the viral replication origin.     

Tomato golden mosaic virus A component DNA replicates autonomously in transgenic plants

Phenotypically normal petunia plants carrying chromosomal inserts of either the tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) A or the B component DNA, as single or tandem inserts, were obtained using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid-based transformation system. Southern hybridization analysis revealed that the tandem, direct-repeat A plants contained free single and double stranded A component DNAs. No free B component DNA was detected in plants carrying tandem repeats of the B component. Progeny of self-fertilized plants appeared normal. In contrast, one-quarter of the progeny from tandem A by tandem B plant crosses showed chlorotic lesions on their leaves similar to virus symptoms. The significance of these results and the use of this method for the study of virus functions involved in TGMV replication and symptom production are discussed.     

Novel forms of woodchuck hepatitis virus DNA isolated from chronically infected woodchuck liver nuclei.

We cloned several unique forms of woodchuck hepatitis virus, a DNA virus closely related to hepatitis B virus, from a chronically infected woodchuck liver. Each of the three clones contained more than two genome equivalents of viral sequences with extensive rearrangements and no detectable cellular sequences. From the frequency by which they were isolated from a library of recombinant clones, we estimate that they are present in approximately one copy per cell. Of a total of 11 sites at which rearrangements were mapped in the clones, 10 occurred between segments of opposite polarity, and 1 occurred between segments of the same polarity. The possible significance of these findings to the persistence of virus production in infected cells is discussed.     

The adaptation of tomato mosaic virus to resistant tomato plants

Tomato mosaic virus derived from susceptible tomato plants (the standard virus) was cultured in resistant plants. Sap from non-inoculated leaves of resistant tomato plants infected with virus from the resistant host was more infective and contained more virus particles than leaf sap of resistant plants infected with the standard virus. Leaves of resistant tomatoes infected with virus from the resistant host also showed more obvious symptoms. Susceptible plants infected with virus from resistant plants not only showed fewer symptoms than when infected with standard virus, but samples were less infective and contained less virus up to 26 weeks, when values for infectivity were similar. This modification in activity was not reversible and was obtained with two lines of tomato having different types of resistance. Passage of virus from resistant plants through susceptible plants did not impair its ability to infect resistant plants.