Cauliflower mosaic virus gene II product forms distinct inclusion bodies in infected plant cells.

Turnip leaves infected with the aphid transmissible isolate of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV Cabb B-JI) showed two types of virus-containing inclusion bodies (IBs), which differed morphologically and in their protein composition when analyzed by immunogold labeling of ultrathin sections. Vacuolated IBs, typical of CaMV infections, contained P62 (the generally accepted IB protein) but lacked P18 (the aphid transmission factor), while electron-lucent IBs did not contain P62 but were the only detectable sites of P18 accumulation within the infected leaf cells. Both types of inclusions were detected in cells of the epidermis, vascular bundles, mesophyll, and spongy parenchyma. Electron-lucent IBs were not found in the aphid nontransmissible isolates of CaMV, Campbell and CM4-184.