Adaptation of lettuce mosaic virus to Catharanthus roseus involves mutations in the central domain of the VPg

• Published in: Molecular plant-microbe interactions Vol. 27; no. 5; pp. 491 - 497
• Main Authors: Svanella-Dumas, Laurence, Verdin, Eric, Faure, Chantal, German-Retana, Sylvie, Gognalons, Patrick, Danet, Jean Luc, Marais, Armelle, Candresse, Thierry
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Phytopathological Society 01.05.2014; The American Phytopathological Society
• Subjects: Agricultural sciences; Amino Acid Sequence; Amino Acid Substitution; Base Sequence; Catharanthus - virology; Catharanthus roseus; DNA Helicases - genetics; DNA Helicases - metabolism; Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E - genetics; Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E - metabolism; Genome, Viral - genetics; Host Specificity; Lactuca - virology; Lettuce mosaic virus; Life Sciences; Microbiology and Parasitology; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Phylogeny; Phytopathology and phytopharmacy; Plant Diseases - virology; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Potyvirus; Potyvirus - genetics; Potyvirus - physiology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Vegetal Biology; Viral Proteins - genetics; Viral Proteins - metabolism; Virology; genome; Potyvirus; evolution; VPg; host change
• ISSN: 0894-0282; 1943-7706
• DOI: 10.1094/MPMI-10-13-0320-R

An isolate of Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV, a Potyvirus) infecting Madagascar periwinckle (Catharanthus roseus) was identified and characterized by Illumina deep sequencing. LMV-Cr has no close affinities to previously sequenced LMV isolates and represents a novel, divergent LMV clade. Inoculation experiments with other representative LMV isolates showed that they are unable to infect C. roseus, which was not known to be a host for LMV. However, three C. roseus variants of one of these isolates, LMV-AF199, could be selected and partially or completely sequenced. These variants are characterized by the accumulation of mutations affecting the C-terminal part of the cylindrical inclusion (CI) helicase and the central part of the VPg. In particular, a serine to proline mutation at amino acid 143 of the VPg was observed in all three independently selected variants and is also present in the LMV-Cr isolate, making it a prime candidate as a host-range determinant. Other mutations at VPg positions 65 and 144 could also contribute to the ability to infect C. roseus. Inoculation experiments involving a recombinant LMV expressing a permissive lettuce eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) suggest that eIF4E does not contribute to the interaction of most LMV isolates with C. roseus.