Cotranslational autoproteolysis involved in gene expression from a double-stranded RNA genetic element associated with hypovirulence of the chestnut blight fungus

Abstract

The genetic information responsible for reduced virulence (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica is thought to reside on cytoplasmically replicating double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules. Cell-free translation of synthetic transcripts corresponding to the 5'-terminal 2640 nucleotides of the sense strand of the large dsRNA present in C. parasitica hypovirulent strain EP713 yielded two polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 29 and 40 kDa. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that p29 and p40 were encoded by a single large open reading frame. The coding regions for p29 and p40 were mapped to nonoverlapping portions of the 5'- and 3'-terminal domains of the open reading frame, respectively. Kinetic analysis and in vitro translation studies with chimeric transcripts indicated that p29 is autocatalytically released from a nascent polyprotein during translation. Microsequence analysis of the amino terminus of radiolabeled p40 indicated that cleavage occurred between Gly-248 and Gly-249, consistent with translational mapping analysis. Examination of the p29 amino acid sequence revealed similarity to the Potyvirus-encoded cysteine-type proteinase HC-Pro. These results indicate the types of mechanism that operate during gene expression by hypovirulence-associated dsRNA genetic elements.