The capsid proteins (CPs) of geminiviruses combine multiple functions for packaging the single-stranded viral genome, insect transmission and shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) CP was expressed in fission yeast, and purified by SDS gel electrophoresis. After tryptic digestion of this protein, mass spectrometry covered 85% of the amino acid seque...

Although histone H3K9 methylation has been intensively studied in animals and a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, little is known about the evolution of the histone methyltransferase and its roles in plant biotic stress response. Here we identified a Nicotiana benthamiana homolog of H3K9 histone methyltransferase KRYPTONITE (NbKYP) and demonstrated its fundamental roles on methylation of plant ...

The products of three open reading frames encoded by the bipartite geminiviruses have been implicated in viral spread: AC2, BV1 and BC1. Alignment of the DNA B encoded gene products, BV1 and BC1, from African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) with six other bipartite geminiviruses showed several highly conserved regions. Specific amino acids were selected for mutagenic studies to ascertain the tolera...

Geminiviruses are single-stranded DNA plant infecting viruses that cause major losses in important crops in tropical and subtropical countries. Tomato leaf curl virus (TLCV) belonging to the genera Begomovirus, is a whitefly-transmitted geminivirus that causes a severe leaf curl disease in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). The importance of this disease has prompted a great need for a rapid ide...