THE OPEN READING FRAME-2 PRODUCT OF CACAO SWOLLEN SHOOT BADNAVIRUS ISA NUCLEIC ACID-BINDING PROTEIN

The function of the open reading frame 2 product (p2) of cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV) and of other badnaviruses is not yet determined. T heir carboxyl-termini are lysine and proline rich and also contain ala nine residues, amino acids present at the C-termini of histone-like pr oteins. Full-length CSSV p2 (132 amino acids) or versions truncated at the C-terminus (128, 113, 103, or 101 amino acids) were expressed in Escherichia coli and partially purified. When assayed in nucleic acid- binding tests, p2 was able to interact with CSSV and other double-stra nded DNAs and with CSSV and other single-stranded RNA transcripts in a sequence-nonspecific manner. Moreover, this binding activity was prog ressively lost as the C-terminus was gradually deleted. (C) 1996 Acade mic Press, Inc.