This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Frohns, F.
Right arrow Articles by Thiel, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Frohns, F.
Right arrow Articles by Thiel, G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, March 2006, p. 2437-2444, Vol. 80, No. 5
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.80.5.2437-2444.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Potassium Ion Channels of Chlorella Viruses Cause Rapid Depolarization of Host Cells during Infection

Florian Frohns,1 Anja Käsmann,1 Detlef Kramer,1 Britta Schäfer,1 Mario Mehmel,1 Ming Kang,2 James L. Van Etten,2,4 Sabrina Gazzarrini,3 Anna Moroni,3 and Gerhard Thiel1*

Institute of Botany, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany,1 Department of Plant Pathology,2 Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0722,4 Department of Biology and CNR IBF-Mi and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy3

Received 7 November 2005/ Accepted 8 December 2005

Previous studies have established that chlorella viruses encode K+ channels with different structural and functional properties. In the current study, we exploit the different sensitivities of these channels to Cs+ to determine if the membrane depolarization observed during virus infection is caused by the activities of these channels. Infection of Chlorella NC64A with four viruses caused rapid membrane depolarization of similar amplitudes, but with different kinetics. Depolarization was fastest after infection with virus SC-1A (half time [t1/2], about 9 min) and slowest with virus NY-2A (t1/2, about 12 min). Cs+ inhibited membrane depolarization only in viruses that encode a Cs+-sensitive K+ channel. Collectively, the results indicate that membrane depolarization is an early event in chlorella virus-host interactions and that it is correlated with viral-channel activity. This suggestion was supported by investigations of thin sections of Chlorella cells, which show that channel blockers inhibit virus DNA release into the host cell. Together, the data indicate that the channel is probably packaged in the virion, presumably in its internal membrane. We hypothesize that fusion of the virus internal membrane with the host plasma membrane results in an increase in K+ conductance and membrane depolarization; this depolarization lowers the energy barrier for DNA release into the host.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Botany, Department of Biology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 3-5, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany. Phone: 49 (0)6151 166050. Fax: 49 (0)6151 164630. E-mail: thiel{at}bio.tu-darmstadt.de.

Journal of Virology, March 2006, p. 2437-2444, Vol. 80, No. 5
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.80.5.2437-2444.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Greiner, T., Frohns, F., Kang, M., Van Etten, J. L., Kasmann, A., Moroni, A., Hertel, B., Thiel, G. (2009). Chlorella viruses prevent multiple infections by depolarizing the host membrane. J. Gen. Virol. 90: 2033-2039 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Agarkova, I., Dunigan, D., Gurnon, J., Greiner, T., Barres, J., Thiel, G., Van Etten, J. L. (2008). Chlorovirus-Mediated Membrane Depolarization of Chlorella Alters Secondary Active Transport of Solutes. J. Virol. 82: 12181-12190 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Agarkova, I. V., Dunigan, D. D., Van Etten, J. L. (2006). Virion-associated restriction endonucleases of chloroviruses.. J. Virol. 80: 8114-8123 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»