The Fifth Residue of the Coat Protein of Turnip Mosaic Virus Is Responsible for Long-Distance Movement in a Local-Lesion Host and Aphid Transmissibility in a Systemic Host

HC-Pro and coat protein (CP) genes of a potyvirus facilitate cell-to-cell movement and are involved in the systemic movement of the viruses. The interaction between HC-Pro and CP is mandatory for aphid transmission. Two turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) isolates, RC4 and YC5, were collected from calla lily plants in Taiwan. The virus derived from the infectious clone pYC5 cannot move systemically in plants and loses aphid transmissibility in plants, like the initially isolated virus. Sequence analysis revealed that two amino acids, P and A , of YC5 CP uniquely differ from RC4 and other TuMV strains. Recombination assay and site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the fifth residue of leucine (L) at the N-terminal region of the CP (TuMV-RC4), rather than proline (P) (TuMV-YC5), is critical to permit the systemic spread in plants. Moreover, the single substitution mutant YC5-CP became aphid transmissible, similar to RC4. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that YC5-GFP was restricted in the petioles of inoculated leaves, whereas YC5-CP -GFP translocated through the petioles of inoculated leaves, the main stem, and the petioles of the upper uninoculated leaves of plants. In addition, YC5-GUS was blocked at the basal part of the petiole connecting to the main stem of the inoculated plants, whereas YC5-CP -GFP translocated to the upper leaves. Thus, a single amino acid, the residue L at the N-terminal region right before the DAG motif, is critical for the systemic translocation ability of TuMV in a local lesion host and for aphid transmissibility in a systemic host.