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Omega-3 fatty acid desaturase (FAD3)-catalyzed conversion of linoleic acid to linolenic acid (18:3) is an important step for the biosynthesis of fatty acids as well as the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) in plants. We report that silencing three microsomal isoforms of GmFAD3 enhanced the accumulation of Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) in soybean. The GmFAD3-silenced plants also accumulated higher levels of JA, even though they contained slightly reduced levels of 18:3. Consequently, the GmFAD3-silenced plants expressed JA-responsive pathogenesis-related genes constitutively and exhibited enhanced susceptibility to virulent Pseudomonas syringae. Increased accumulation of BPMV in GmFAD3-silenced plants was likely associated with their JA levels, because exogenous JA application also increased BPMV accumulation. The JA-derived increase in BPMV levels was likely not due to repression of salicylic acid (SA)-derived signaling because the GmFAD3-silenced plants were enhanced in SA-dependent defenses. Furthermore, neither exogenous SA application nor silencing the SA-synthesizing phenylalanine ammonia lyase gene altered BPMV levels in soybean. In addition to the altered defense responses, the GmFAD3-silenced plants also produced significantly larger and heavier seed. Our results indicate that loss of GmFAD3 enhances JA accumulation and, thereby, susceptibility to BPMV in soybean.

Wildtype cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) was extracted from fresh and frozen plant material by methods suitable for large-scale application. Deep freezing, crushing, and thawing in water or buffers gave 0.6+/-0.2 mg g(-1) of virus after up to 24 h. Release from sliced fresh leaves was lower at 0.14+/-0.03 mg g(-1). Homogenisation of frozen leaves for 1 min increased yield to a maximum, on average of 3.5 mg g(-1) but varying between batches from 2.2 to 4.8 mg g(-1) virus Long term storage at -80 degrees C increased subsequent yield by 2 mg g(-1) per year on average; the maximum was 10.4+/-1.9 mg g(-1) (665 days storage). Within a batch, similar yields were obtained between individual fresh plants, and from frozen versus fresh leaves. After homogenisation for 1 min, 90% of debris particles were smaller than 12 microm, half under 5 microm and 10% less than 1 microm. Homogenate (4% dry weight) was rheologically complex, exhibiting shear thinning with hysteresis at low shear rates which bears on subsequent processing. At shear rates above 200 s(-1), its apparent viscosity was 0.02 N s m(-2).

Cowpea mosaic virus moves from cell-to-cell in a virion form through tubular structures that are assembled in modified plasmodesmata. Similar tubular structures are formed on the surface of protoplasts inoculated with cowpea mosaic virus. The RNA 2-encoded movement protein (MP) is responsible for the induction and formation of these structures. To define functional domains of the MP, an alanine-substitution mutagenesis was performed on eight positions in the MP, including two conserved sequence motifs, the LPL and D motifs. Results show that these two conserved motifs as well as the central region of the MP are essential for cell-to-cell movement. Several viruses carrying mutations in the N- or C-terminal parts of their MP retained infectivity on cowpea plants. Coexpression studies revealed that mutant MPs did not interfere with the activity of wild-type MP and could not mutually complement their defects., (Copyright 2000 Academic Press.)