ATPase, GTPase, and RNA binding activities associated with the 206-kilodalton protein of turnip yellow mosaic virus

Abstract

The 206-kDa protein of turnip yellow mosaic virus belongs to an expanding group of proteins containing a domain which includes the consensus nucleotide binding site GxxxxGKS/T. A portion of this protein (amino acids [aa] 916 to 1259) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography to near homogeneity. In the absence of any other viral factors, it exhibited ATPase and GTPase activities in vitro. A mutant protein with a single amino acid substitution in the consensus nucleotide binding site (Lys-982 to Ser) exhibited only low levels of both activities, implying that Lys-982 is important for nucleoside triphosphatase activity. The protein also possessed nonspecific RNA binding capacity. Deletion mutants revealed that an N-terminal domain (aa 916 to 1061) and a C-terminal domain (aa 1182 to 1259) participate in RNA binding. The results presented here provide the first experimental evidence that turnip yellow mosaic virus encodes nucleoside triphosphatase and RNA binding activities.