Interaction between tobacco Ribulose-l,5-biphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase large subunit (RubisCO-LSU) and the PVY Coat Protein (PVY-CP)

A 54 kDa band (P54) was continually detected with the 30 kDa viral capsid protein (CP) on the SDS-PAGE migration profile of purified potato virus Y (PVY). P54 was observed following the use of two different procedures for the purification of the PVY from infected tobacco. It was a constitutively expressed tobacco protein. The analysis of the PVY preparation showed that P54 has aggregation properties and precipitates, thus pulling down the virus. We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to study the relationship between P54 and the PVY particles. We performed an inhibition test with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against the PVY-CP, to show that these two components interact. This result was confirmed by western blot. The internal sequence of five major peptides, obtained by C-lysine endoprotease digestion of the P54 followed by HPLC separation, showed 100% homology with the large subunit of the ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO-LSU) of tobacco. MAb directed against RubisCO-LSU were produced and used to reveal the RubisCO-LSU/PVY complex in infected tobacco extracts. A phage library displaying random heptapeptides was used to isolate several peptides that specifically bound to the native form of the PVY. The sequences of thirty-three phage-displayed peptides, which bound specifically to this virus, present further discontinuous sequence homologies with the RubisCO-LSU. Five peptides (p1 to p5) corresponding to the RubisCO-LSU homologous regions were used for a bacterial two-hybrid system to confirm in vivo direct interactions between the selected RubisCO-LSU regions and the PVY-CP. We propose that the PVY-CP may be involved in the production of mosaics and yellowing symptoms in tobacco through its interaction with RubisCO-LSU.