THE BARLEY STRIPE MOSAIC-VIRUS GAMMA-B GENE ENCODES A MULTIFUNCTIONAL CYSTEINE-RICH PROTEIN THAT AFFECTS PATHOGENESIS

Barley stripe mosaic virus contains seven genes, one of which specifies a 17-kD cysteine-rich protein, gamma b, that is known to affect virulence. To further characterize the role of gamma b in pathogenesis, we mutagenized sequences encoding amino acids within two clusters of cysteine and histidine residues in the cysteine-rich domain and a group of basic amino acids located between the clusters and determined the effects of these mutations on the symptom phenotype in barley. Three single amino acid substitutions in cluster 1 and two amino acid exchanges in the basic region caused bleached symptoms associated with pronounced elevations in accumulation of gamma b protein. In contrast, three single amino acid substitutions in cluster 2 and a mutation in the basic motif resulted in attenuated (''null'') symptoms typical of those produced when the gamma b gene is deleted. Tissue infected with these ''null'' mutants accumulated slightly elevated amounts of the gamma b protein but significantly lower levels of coat protein and the putative movement protein beta b. Genetic complementation tests revealed that cluster 1 mutations are dominant over the wild-type gamma b gene, whereas those in cluster 2 are recessive. These results highlight the pivotal role of gamma b in pathogenesis and suggest that the two cysteine-rich clusters are functionally distinct and that they affect different aspects of disease development.