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Journal of Virology, August 2006, p. 8124-8132, Vol. 80, No. 16
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00603-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Insights into the Selective Pressures Restricting Pelargonium Flower Break Virus Genome Variability: Evidence for Host Adaptation

Patricia Rico, Pilar Ivars, Santiago F. Elena, and Carmen Hernández*

Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-UPV, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Received 24 March 2006/ Accepted 4 June 2006

The molecular diversity of Pelargonium flower break virus (PFBV) was assessed using a collection of isolates from different geographical origins, hosts, and collecting times. The genomic region examined was 1,828 nucleotides (nt) long and comprised the coding sequences for the movement (p7 and p12) and the coat (CP) proteins, as well as flanking segments including the entire 3' untranslated region (3' UTR). Some constraints limiting viral heterogeneity could be inferred from sequence analyses, such as the conservation of the amino acid sequences of p7 and of the shell domain of the CP, the maintenance of a leucine zipper motif in p12, and the preservation of a particular folding in the 3' UTR. A remarkable covariation, involving five specific amino acid sites, was found in the CP of isolates largely propagated in the local lesion host Chenopodium quinoa and in the progeny of a PFBV variant subjected to serial passages in this host. Concomitant with this covariation, up to 30 nucleotide substitutions in a 1,428-nt region of the viral RNA could be attributable to C. quinoa-specific adaptation, representing one of the most outstanding cases of host-driven genome variation for a plant virus. Globally, the results indicate that the selective pressures exerted by the host play a critical role in shaping PFBV populations and that these populations are likely being selected for at both protein and RNA levels.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (CSIC-UPV), Campus Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. Phone: 34 963 877 869. Fax: 34 963 877 859. E-mail: cahernan{at}ibmcp.upv.es.

Journal of Virology, August 2006, p. 8124-8132, Vol. 80, No. 16
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00603-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Martinez-Turino, S., Hernandez, C. (2009). Inhibition of RNA silencing by the coat protein of Pelargonium flower break virus: distinctions from closely related suppressors. J. Gen. Virol. 90: 519-525 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yaegashi, H., Isogai, M., Tajima, H., Sano, T., Yoshikawa, N. (2007). Combinations of two amino acids (Ala40 and Phe75 or Ser40 and Tyr75) in the coat protein of apple chlorotic leaf spot virus are crucial for infectivity. J. Gen. Virol. 88: 2611-2618 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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