Purification, Partial Characterization, and Serological Comparison of Soybean Mosaic Virus and its Coat Protein

SOONG, M. M., and G. M. MILBRATH. 1980. Purification, partial characterization, and serological comparison of soybean mosaic virus and its coat protein. Phytopathology 70:388-391. An Illinois isolate of soybean mosaic virus (SMV-IL) was purified from frequent length of 675-750 nm. Infectious SMV RNA was separated from cultivar Kanrich soybean leaves, 16-18 days after inoculation by protein bydisruption of virus in 2 M lithium chloride (LiCl). Purified SMV chloroform-butanol clarification, followed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) protein migrated as a single band in SDS-polyacrylamide gels (SDSprecipitation and ultracentrifugation, first through a 30% sucrose solution PAGE) with a molecular weight of 32,150 ± 420 for SMV-IL and 33,075 + and then to density equilibrium in cesium chloride. The purified virus 1,889 for PV-94-ATCC. The antigenic specificity of protein from degraded absorbed maximally between 258-263 nm and minimally at 244 nm. The SMV was not identical to that of intact virus particles. The SMV is identical ratio of absorption at 260 and 280 nm (A260/ A280) of purified virus (not to SMV-PV-94-ATCC based on serological titer, cross-absorption studies, corrected for light scattering) was 0.79. Viewed in the electron microscope, coat protein molecular weight estimation on SDS-PAGE, and ultraviolet SMV appeared to be homogeneous, unaggregated, and to have a most absorption spectra. A strain of soybean mosaic virus (SMV-IL) that caused severe and clarified by using an 8% final concentration of a 1:1 mixture of mosaic symptoms was isolated from cultivar Amsoy soybeans n-butanol and chloroform, followed by low-speed centrifugation in grown in an experimental plot at the Agronomy South Farm of the a Sorvall refrigerated centrifuge (7,000 rpm for 20 min in a GSA University of Illinois. The physical properties of S MV-IL isolate rotor). Clarified extracts were brought to 0.3 M with NaCl and then were similar to those of a North Carolina isolate (PV-94-ATCC) 4 g of polyethylene glycol, MW 6,000, (PEG-6000) (Union Carbide (3), but we were unable to purify SMV-IL by any of several Chemical Co., Chicago, IL 60606) were added per 100 ml of reported procedures (7,8,11,12). In this paper, we report a new extract. After 1-hr of incubation at 4 C, the precipitated virus was purification procedure which gives a homogeneous preparation of collected by centrifugation at 7,000 rpm for 20 min and SMV-IL; enables characterization of the whole virus, the purified resuspended in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, viral RNA, and protein; and allows preparation of high-titer containing 500 mM urea and 20 mM Na 2SO 3 (resuspending specific antisera against the virus. buffer). The resuspended virus was clarified by low-speed Because studies with potato virus X (PVX) indicated differences centrifugation and further concentrated by high-speed in antigenic specificities between whole virus and its coat protein centrifugation for 3 hr at 27,000 rpm through a 9-ml cushion of 30% (16), the antigenic specificities of SMV-IL and S MV-PV-94-ATCC sucrose in a Spinco No. 30 rotor. Birefringence was checked by and their dissociated protein subunits were compared. swirling the resuspended virus solution between two crossed polarizing prisms and observed the resulting light patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS Further purification was done either by equilibrium density gradient centrifugation in CsCl or by sucrose rate-zonal density Virus culture and propagation. An isolate of soybean mosaic gradient centrifugation. CsCl density gradients prepared by mixing virus designated as Illinois severe (S MV-IL) was used in this study. 1.8 ml of saturated CsCl (4 C) in resuspending buffer with 3.2 ml of An isolate from North Carolina (PV-94, American Type Culture virus solution were centrifuged at 40,000 rpm for 20-24 hr in a Collection, Rockville, MD; SMV-ATCC) was used for serological Beckman SW 50.1 rotor. The gradients were scanned at 254 nm and comparisons. Both isolates were maintained in cultivar Kanrich fractionated with an ISCO density gradient fractionator. Each soybean plants at approximately 25 C in a greenhouse and were fraction was concentrated by high-speed centrifugation and transferred every 3 wk. The cultivar Kanrich soybean seeds used for assayed for infectivity on detached cultivar Top Crop bean leaves propagation were obtained from the Burpee Seed Company, (10). For routine purification, the virus band was removed from the Clinton, IA. The seeds were planted either in steam-sterilized sand tube and dialyzed at 4 C for 24 hr against resuspending buffer. or composted soil and the seedlings were selected for size Virus characterization. The purified virus was prepared for uniformity before inoculation by rubbing the inoculum with a electron microscopy by staining with 2% phosphotungstic acid, pH pestle on the primary leaves before the first trifoliolate leaf 6.9, and viewed with a JEOL 100 C electron microscope. Analytical expanded. ultracentrifugation with a Beckman Model E ultracentrifuge was Virus purification. Virus was purified from systemically infected done at 12,590 rpm and 20 C and photgraphed at 4-min intervals. cultivar Kanrich soybean leaves harvested 16-18 days after The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the purified SMV was inoculation. Purification was done at 4 C. Infected tissues were measured in a Beckman DBG spectrophotometer. The virus homogenized for 1.5 min in a Waring Blendor in chilled 50 mM concentration was estimated with the instrument set for the sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, containing 10 mM sodiumextinction coefficient reported for tobacco etch virus of 2.4 cm mg 2 diethyldithiocarbamate (Na-DIECA) (4 ml of buffer per gram of at 261 nm (5). tissue). The extract was strained through two layers of cheesecloth Isolation of SMV-RNA and protein. SMV-nucleic acid and protein were prepared by the lithium chloride (LiCI) method as 0031-949X/80/05038804/$03.oo/o described by Francki and McLean (6). The precipitated RNA @1980 The American Phytopathological Society collected by centrifugation at 5,000 rpm for 15 min in a Sorvall