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Nested Deletion Analysis Of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Hc-Pro: Mapping Of Domains Affecting Polyprotein Processing And Eriophyid Mite Transmission, Drake C. Stenger, Gary L. Hein, Roy C. French

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

A series of in-frame and nested deletion mutations which progressively removed 5′-proximal sequences of the Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) HC-Pro coding region (1152 nucleotides) was constructed and evaluated for pathogenicity to wheat. WSMV HC-Pro mutants with 5′- proximal deletions of 12 to 720 nucleotides systemically infected wheat. Boundary sequences flanking the deletions were stable and unaltered by passage through plants for all deletion mutants except HCD12 (lacking HC-Pro codons 3–6) that exhibited strong bias for G to A substitution at nucleotide 1190 in HC-Pro codon 2 (aspartic acid to asparagine). HC-Pro mutants with 5′-proximal deletions of up to 720 …