DNA recognition properties of the cell-to-cell movement protein (MP) of soybean isolate of Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV-Sb)

Bipartite geminiviruses possess two movement proteins (NSP and MP), which mediate the intra- and intercellular movement. In order to accomplish the transport process the movement proteins interact with viral nucleic acids in a sequence non-specific manner. To investigate the nucleic acid recognition properties of MP of MYMIV-Sb, the protein was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with maltose-binding protein (MBP) and purified in native condition. Gel mobility shift assay was employed for analyzing the DNA recognition properties of purified MBP-MP fusion protein. The analyses demonstrated the sequence non-specific binding of MYMIV-Sb MP to both ds and ssDNA and its high affinity for ssDNA. MP of MYMIV-Sb did not show any specificity towards various forms of plasmid DNA but displayed size selection towards linear dsDNA.