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| Purified potyvirus particles |
Potyviruses: Virus genome-linked protein (VPg) as a virulence and avirulence factor
The potyviruses (Potyviridae) comprise the largest group of viruses that collectively infect most crop plants and many other wild plant species. The viruses typically have an RNA genome of approximately 10 kb that encodes a single polyprotein. This is cleaved into functional polypeptides by self-encoded proteases. One of these polypeptides is a protein that becomes attached to one end (5' end) of the virus RNA and is called the virus genome-linked protein (VPg). In common with many viral proteins, VPg is multifunctional and has been shown to have roles in viral RNA replication, viral RNA translation, local and systemic virus movement, and as an avirulence factor in the recognition of several resistance genes.
Through our interest in this protein as an avirulence factor, we are now pursuing two projects:
- To study the role of eukaryotic
translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) in determining recessive
resistance in pea to Pea seed borne mosaic virus (PSbMV)
and
- To study the purpose of an interaction of VPg with a histidine/cysteine-rich host protein.
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