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Gene C2 of the Monopartite Geminivirus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus-China Encodes a Pathogenicity Determinant That Is Localized in the Nucleus

¹Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Horticulture Research International, Kent ME19 6BJ, U.K.; ²Department of Biology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9ST, U.K.; ³Department of Virology, Institute of Microbiology, Beijing 100080, China; ⁴Department of Virus Research, John Innes Centre, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, U.K.

Expression of the Tomato yellow leaf curl virus-China (TYLCV-C) C2 protein and green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the C2 protein (C2-GFP) in Nicotiana benthamiana from a Potato virus X (PVX) vector induced necrotic ringspots on inoculated leaves as well as necrotic vein banding and severe necrosis on systemically infected leaves. The localization of GFP fluorescence in plant cells infected with PVX/C2-GFP and in insect cells transfected with Baculovirus expressing C2-GFP indicates that the TYLCV-C C2 protein is capable of shuttling GFP into plant and insect cell nuclei. Our data demonstrate that the TYLCV-C C2 protein may contribute to viral pathogenicity in planta and is nuclear localized.

Additional keywords: Begomovirus, Geminiviridae, putative transcriptional activator protein.