Potyvirus helper component-proteinase self-interaction in the yeast two-hybrid system and delineation of the interaction domain involved.

Using the yeast two-hybrid system, a screen was performed for possible interactions between the proteins encoded by the 5' region of potyviral genomes [P1, helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro), and P3]. A positive self-interaction involving HC-Pro was detected with lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) and potato virus Y (PVY). The possibility of heterologous interaction between the HC-Pro of LMV and of PVY was also demonstrated. No interaction involving either the P1 or the P3 proteins was detected. A series of ordered deletions from either the N- or C-terminal end of the LMV HC-Pro was used to map the domain involved in interaction to the 72 N-terminal amino acids of the protein, a region known to be dispensable for virus viability but necessary for aphid transmission. A similar but less detailed analysis mapped the interacting domain to the N-terminal half of the PVY HC-Pro.