Efficient translation of alfamovirus RNAs requires the binding of coat protein dimers to the 3′ termini of the viral RNAs

The coat protein (CP) of Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) is required to initiate infection by the viral tripartite RNA genome whereas infection by the tripartite Brome mosaic virus (BMV) genome is independent of CP. AMV CP stimulates translation of AMV RNA in vivo 50- to 100-fold. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the AMV subgenomic CP messenger RNA 4 contains at least two CP binding sites. A CP binding site in the 3'-terminal 112 nucleotides of RNA 4 was found to be required for efficient translation of the RNA whereas an upstream binding site was not. Binding of CP to the AMV 3' UTR induces a conformational change of the RNA but this change alone was not sufficient to stimulate translation. CP mutant R17A is unable to bind to the 3' UTR and translation in vivo of RNA 4 encoding this mutant occurs at undetectable levels. Replacement of the 3' UTR of this mutant RNA 4 by the 3' UTR of BMV RNA 4 restored translation of R17A-CP to wild-type levels. Apparently, the BMV 3' UTR stimulates translation independently of CP. AMV CP mutant N199 is defective in the formation of CP dimers and did not stimulate translation of RNA 4 in vivo although the mutant CP did bind to the 3' UTR. The finding that N199-CP does not promote AMV infection corroborates the notion that the requirement of CP in the inoculum reflects its role in translation of the viral RNAs.