The pattern of accumulation of cauliflower mosaic virus-specific products in infected turnips

Abstract

The concentrations of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) DNA and protein products in the developing leaves of a host, turnip, have been measured and the results have been correlated with symptom production. Virus-specific products were limited to the symptomatic leaves. CaMV DNA was detected in the youngest foliar tissues showing full systemic symptoms and continued to accumulate as the leaf expanded, indicating that virus multiplication was not restricted to meristematic tissues of the host plant and that virus concentration was not a primary determinant for symptom production. Using specific antisera for Western blot analysis, the distribution of CaMV-specific proteins (P1-P6) in a range of subcellular fractions of infected tissue was determined. The protein products (P2-P6) of genes II–VI were all detected in fractions enriched for virus inclusion bodies, although P5 was present only at low levels. A high-speed pellet fraction enriched for virus replication complexes revealed P5 in higher concentrations, and also contained P4 and small amounts of P6 in proportions which indicated that replication complexes had been released from inclusion bodies. In the different leaves of the host, P2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 all increased in concentration in parallel with viral DNA, although there appeared to be a bias toward protein rather than DNA synthesis in the very young leaves. P1 showed a different pattern of accumulation; it was most concentrated in the very young and the oldest infected tissues, and showed a different spectrum of products between leaves. The experiments described provide a more complete picture of the relationship between CaMV multiplication and expression, and leaf development, and an increased understanding of how the disease syndrome is established.