Comparative analysis of recombinant Human Papillomavirus 8 L1 production in plants by a variety of expression systems and purification methods.

Human papillomavirus 8 (HPV-8), one of the high-risk cutaneous papillomaviruses (cHPVs), is associated with epidermodysplasia verruciformis and nonmelanoma skin cancer in immuno-compromised individuals. Currently, no vaccines against cHPVs have been reported; however, recent studies on cross-neutralizing properties of their capsid proteins (CP) have fostered an interest in vaccine production against these viruses. We examined the potential of producing HPV-8 major CP L1 in Nicotiana benthamiana by agroinfiltration of different transient expression vectors: (i) the binary vector pBIN19 with or without silencing suppressor constructs, (ii) the nonreplicating Cowpea mosaic virus-derived expression vector pEAQ-HT and (iii) a replicating Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-based vector alone or with signal peptides.

Efficient production of chimeric human papillomavirus 16 L1 protein bearing the M2e influenza epitope in Nicotiana benthamiana plants.

Background: Human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) L1 protein has the capacity to self-assemble into capsomers or virus-like particles (VLPs) that are highly immunogenic, allowing their use in vaccine production. Successful expression of HPV-16 L1 protein has been reported in plants, and plant-produced VLPs have been shown to be immunogenic after administration to animals.

Results: We investigated the potential of HPV-16 L1 to act as a carrier of two foreign epitopes from Influenza A virus: (i) M2e2-24, ectodomain of the M2 protein (M2e), that is highly conserved among all influenza A isolates, or (ii) M2e2-9, a shorter version of M2e containing the N-terminal highly conserved epitope, that is common for both M1 and M2 influenza proteins.

Reverse genetic analysis of Ourmiaviruses reveals the nucleolar localization of the coat protein in Nicotiana benthamiana and unusual requirements for virion formation.

Ourmia melon virus (OuMV) is the type member of the genus Ourmiavirus. These viruses have a trisegmented genome, each part of which encodes a single protein. Ourmiaviruses share a distant similarity with other plant viruses only in their movement proteins (MP), whereas their RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) shares features only with fungal viruses of the family Narnaviridae.

An RGG sequence in the replication-associated protein (Rep) of Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus is involved in transcriptional repression and severely impacts resistance in Rep-expressing plants.

Truncated versions of the replication-associated protein (Rep) of Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV) can interfere with various viral functions and the N-terminal 130 aa are sufficient for strongly inhibiting C1-gene transcription and virus replication and confer resistance in transgenic plants. In this work, we analysed the relevance of an RGG sequence at aa 124-126, highly conserved in begomoviruses, in these inhibitory functions as well as in the subcellular localization of Rep. Although no role of this RGG sequence was detected by cell fractionation and immunogold labelling in Rep localization, this sequence appears relevant for the transcriptional control of the C1-gene and for the inhibition of viral replication and dramatically impacts resistance in transgenic plants.

Virion stability is important for the circulative transmission of tomato yellow leaf curl sardinia virus by Bemisia tabaci, but virion access to salivary glands does not guarantee transmissibility.

The capsid protein (CP) of the monopartite begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV), family Geminiviridae, is indispensable for plant infection and vector transmission. A region between amino acids 129 and 152 is critical for virion assembly and insect transmissibility. Two previously described mutants, one with a double Q129P Q134H mutation (PNHD) and another with a further D152E change (PNHE), were found nontransmissible (NT).

Field Isolates of Tomato spotted wilt virus Overcoming Resistance in Pepper and Their Spread to Other Hosts in Italy.

Isolates of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) severely and systemically infecting commercial pepper cultivars with resistance introgressed from Capsicum chinense PI152225 were found in Albenga (northwestern Italy) in July 2000. Experimentally, these resistance-breaking (RB) isolates overcame the resistance in C. chinense PI152225, but they produced infection in other hosts similarly to non-RB isolates from the same area.