Two proteins of a plant DNA virus coordinate nuclear and plasmodesmal transport

Plant viruses establish a systemic infection by moving through plasmodesmata, but little is known of the mechanism(s) involved. The roles of two movement-associated proteins of a single-stranded DNA virus were investigated in vivo, using functional proteins expressed in E. coli and microinjection into plant cells. We report here that the BL1 protein of bean dwarf mosaic geminivirus moves extensively from cell to cell, increases mesophyll plasmodesmal size exclusion limit, and potentiates the movement of double-stranded DNA from cell to cell. Movement of single- and double-stranded DNA out of the nucleus is mediated by the BR1 protein. These results provide direct experimental evidence for intercellular macro-molecular transport in plants, and suggest that the BR1 and BL1 proteins coordinate the movement of viral DNA across both nuclear and plasmodesmal boundaries.