The C terminus of the movement protein of Brome mosaic virus controls the requirement for coat protein in cell-to-cell movement and plays a role in long-distance movement.

The 3a movement protein (MP) plays a central role in the movement of Brome mosaic virus (BMV). To identify the functional regions in BMV MP, 24 alanine-scanning (AS) MP mutants of BMV were constructed. Infectivity of the AS mutants in the host plant Chenopodium quinoa showed that the central region of BMV MP is important for viral movement and both termini of BMV MP have effects on the development of systemic symptoms. A green-fluorescent-protein-expressing RNA3-based BMV vector containing a 2A sequence from Foot-and-mouth disease virus was also constructed. Using this vector, two AS mutants that showed more efficient cell-to-cell movement than wild-type BMV were identified. The MPs of these two AS mutants, which have mutations at their C termini, mediated cell-to-cell movement independently of coat protein (CP), unlike wild-type BMV MP. Furthermore, a BMV mutant with a truncation in the C-terminal 42 amino acids of MP was also able to move from cell to cell without CP, but did not move systemically, even in the presence of CP. These results and an encapsidation analysis suggest that the C terminus of BMV MP is involved in the requirement for CP in cell-to-cell movement and plays a role in long-distance movement. Furthermore, the ability to spread locally and form virions is not sufficient for the long-distance movement of BMV. The roles of MP and CP in BMV movement are discussed.