TURNIP MOSAIC VIRUS COAT PROTEIN GENE: CLONING AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE PLANT VECTOR

Complementary DNAs to turnip mosaic virus (a radish Raphanus stativus isolate) genomicRNA were synthesized using oligo (dT) as primer and cloned into the vector λ-ZAP Ⅱ. Afterhybridization with a single-stranded cDNA probe and the sequencing of inserted DNA,positive clones with poly--A tails were obtained. One clone containing 1429-base pair insertwas sequenced. The coat protein gene was identified based on the molecular weight of theTuMV coat protein and the consensus sequences of the polyprotein processing sites ofpotyviruses. The 5’ end of the coat protein gene was modified by PCR to introduce aninitiation codon, ATG, and two restriction enzyme sites. The gene was then manipulatedinto a binary vector pBIN437 which was derived from pBI121, and the plant expressionvector is being used to transform Brassica napus.