Two amino acid substitutions in the tomato mosaic virus 30-kilodalton movement protein confer the ability to overcome the Tm-2(2) resistance gene in the tomato.

The Tm-2(2) resistance gene is used in most commercial tomato cultivars for protection against infection with tobacco mosaic virus and its close relative tomato mosaic virus (ToMV). To study the mechanism of this resistance gene, cDNA clones encompassing the complete genome of a ToMV strain (ToMV-2(2)) that was able to break the Tm-2(2) resistance were generated. Chimeric full-length viral cDNA clones were constructed under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA promoter, combining parts of the wild-type virus and ToMV-2(2). Using these clones in cDNA infection experiments, we showed that the 30-kDa movement protein of ToMV-2(2) is responsible for overcoming the Tm-2(2) resistance gene in the tomato. DNA sequence analysis revealed four amino acid exchanges between the 30-kDa proteins from wild-type ToMV and ToMV-2(2), Lys-130 to Glu, Gly-184 to Glu, Ser-238 to Arg, and Lys-244 to Glu. To clarify the involvement of the altered amino acid residues in the resistance-breaking properties of the ToMV-2(2) movement protein, different combinations of these amino acid exchanges were introduced in the genome of wild-type ToMV. Only one mutant strain which contained two amino acid substitutions, Arg-238 and Glu-244, was able to multiply in Tm-2(2) tomato plants. Both amino acid exchanges are found within the carboxy-terminal region of the movement protein, which displays a high variability among different tobamoviruses and has been shown to be dispensable for virus transport in tobacco plants. These observations suggest that the resistance conferred by the Tm-2(2) gene against ToMV depends on specific recognition events in this host-pathogen interaction rather than interfering with fundamental functions of the 30-kDa protein.