Analysis of cell-to-cell and long-distance movement of apple latent spherical virus in infected plants using green, cyan, and yellow fluorescent proteins.

Apple latent spherical virus (ALSV) expressing green, cyan, and yellow fluorescent proteins (GFP, CFP, and YFP) was constructed and used to analyze the local and systemic movement of the virus in infected plants. In Chenopodium quinoa plants inoculated with GFP-ALSV, the infection foci first appeared as small fluorescent spots 2-3 days post inoculation (dpi). The GFP spots expanded as rings from 5 dpi, then fused to each other, and most fluorescence faded out at 10-12 dpi. In upper uninoculated leaves, GFP fluorescence was first observed 6-7 dpi on the basal area of mature leaves and on the entire area of young developing leaves. The appearance of fluorescent flecks on young leaves was first found on and near the class III and IV veins. ALSV labeled with two different fluorescent proteins (CFP-ALSV and YFP-ALSV) were used to investigate the distribution of identical, but differently labeled viruses in mixed infection. Fluorescence from CFP and YFP was in each case observed in separate areas in both inoculated and upper uninoculated leaves, indicating that populations of identical, but differently labeled viruses were replicated and distributed in discrete areas of infected leaves.