Protein–protein interactions between proteins of Citrus tristeza virus isolates

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is one of the most devastating pathogens of citrus. Its genome is organized into 12 open reading frames (ORFs), of which ten ORFs located at the 3′-terminus of the genome have multiple biological functions. The ten genes at the 3′-terminus of the genome of a severe isolate (CTV-S4) and three ORFs (CP, CPm and p20) of three other isolates (N4, S45 and HB1) were cloned into pGBKT7 and pGADT7 yeast shuttle vectors. Yeast two-hybridization (Y2H) assays results revealed a strong self-interaction for CP and p20, and a unique interaction between the CPm of CTV-S4 (severe) and CP of CTV-N4 (mild) isolates. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation also confirmed these interactions. Analysis of the deletion mutants delineated the domains of CP and p20 self-interaction. Furthermore, the domains responsible for CP and p20 self-interactions were mapped at the CP amino acids sites 41–84 and p20 amino acids sites 1–21 by Y2H. This study provided new information on CTV protein interactions which will help for further understanding the biological functions.