Abstract
Evidence for the involvement of a Bemisia tabaci GroEL homologue in the transmission of tomato yellow leaf curl geminivirus (TYLCV) is presented. A ~63-kDa protein was identified in B. tabaci whole-body extracts using an antiserum raised against aphid Buchnera GroEL. The GroEL homologue was immunolocalized to a coccoid-shaped whitefly endosymbiont. The 30 N-terminal amino acids of the whitefly GroEL homologue showed 80% homology with that from different aphid species and GroEL from Escherichia coil. Purified GroEL from B. tabaci exhibited ultrastructural similarities to that of the endosymbiont from aphids and E. coli. In vitro ligand assays showed that tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) particles displayed a specific affinity for the B. tabaci 63-kDa GroEL homologue. Feeding whiteflies anti-Buchnera GroEL antiserum before the acquisition of virions reduced TYLCV transmission to tomato test plants by >80%. In the haemolymph of these whiteflies, TYLCV DNA was reduced to amounts below the threshold of detection by Southern blot hybridization. Active antibodies were recovered from the insect haemolymph suggesting that by complexing the GoEL homologue, the antibody disturbed interaction with TYLCV, leading to degradation of the virus. We propose that GroEL of B. tabaci protects the virus from destruction during its passage through the haemolymph.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 75-84 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Virology |
| Volume | 256 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 30 Mar 1999 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Drs. David J. Robinson and Bryan D. Harrison for the monoclonal antibody against TYLCV coat protein and Dr. David Ben-Yakir for advice in feeding antibodies to whiteflies. We thank André Frank (Agricultural Research Organization) for excellent assistance in electron microscopy. This work was supported by Grant 95-168 from The US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) to H.C.