Seed transmissibility of plant viruses may be modulated by competition between viral and cellular messengers. A proposal - Chroboczek, J.; Witt, M.; Ostrowka, K.; Bassuner, R.; Puchel, M.; Zagorski, W. (Elsevier)
Translation of plant viral RNA in the presence of poly(A)-containing mRNA from developing cotyledons of Vicia faba was studied in the in vitro system from wheat embryos. In the presence of Vicia RNA translation of non-structural messengers of brome mosaic virus (BMV) is arrested whereas the synthesis of BMV coat protein is only slightly inhibited. Similarly synthesis of non-structural polypeptides of tobacco mosaic virus is also arrested in the presence of Vicia RNA. It seems that mRNA for storage proteins is able to outcompete messengers for non-structural viral polypeptides which are implicated in viral RNA replication. It is proposed, that the ability of mRNAs of plant storage protein to outcompete viral messengers for the translation apparatus could be the basis for embryo immunity against viral infections.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304-4211(80)90080-2
Keywords: W