EXPRESSION OF THE IMMUNODOMINANT MEMBRANE PROTEIN OF CHLORANTIE-ASTER YELLOWS PHYTOPLASMA IN NICOTIANA BENTHAMIANA FROM A POTATO VIRUS X-BASED VECTOR

The immunodominant membrane protein (IMP) of chlorantie-aster yellows phytoplasma has an N-terminal signal peptide, a hydrophilic core region, and a hydrophobic trans-membrane domain near the C-terminal.
To investigate the possible direct effects of IMP on plants, the entire IMP gene and the coding sequence for the mature protein (MaIMP, i.e. IMP without the signal peptide) have been cloned into a potato virus X (PVX)-based vector.
MaIMP expression in infected Nicotiana benthamiana was detected by ELISA using monoclonal antibodies.
However, no protein was detected in plants infected with a construct designed to express the entire IMP. The presence of MaIMP had no obvious effect on PVX infection of the plants, but the IMP gene sequence that was inserted into PVX genome attenuated the symptom development of the modified PVX. These data suggested that IMP is not a direct determinant of symptoms in phytoplasma infected plants.

XVIII International Symposium on Virus and Virus-like Diseases of Temperate Fruit Crops – Top Fruit Diseases

Y. Hong, D.L. Davies, R. van Wezel, B.E. Ellerker, A. Morton, D. Barbara

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.550.61