Subcellular localization of p29, a putative movement protein of pepper ringspot virus.

Pepper ringspot virus (PepRSV) is a member of the genus Tobravirus. It possesses a bipartite single-strand RNA genome in a positive-sense polarity. The p29 protein is encoded by RNA 1 and is presumed to be the movement protein (MP) of this virus. In this study, the intracellular distribution of the p29 protein was analyzed by confocal microscopy. Transient expression of the PepRSV p29 protein fused to green fluorescent protein was observed as punctate spots localized next to the cell wall. This protein partially co-localized with the eCFP-tagged tobacco mosaic virus 30K MP, which is known to associate with plasmodesmata. This result suggests that the p29 protein is most probably the movement protein for PepRSV.