| Tobacco Mosaic Virus |
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Information AboutTobacco Mosaic Virus |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS | |
| tobacco | |
| viruses | |
| model organisms | |
| plant pathogens and diseases | |
| tobacco diseases | |
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Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is an RNA Virus that infects Plant s, especially Tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae , showing characteristic patterns (mottling and discoloration) on the Leaves (thus the name). It was the first virus to be discovered. Although it was known from the late 19th century that something was threatening tobacco crops, it was not until 1930 that the cause was identified as a virus. HISTORY In 1883 and Robley Williams showed that purified TMV RNA and its Capsid (coat) protein assemble by themselves to functional viruses, indicating that this is the most stable structure (the one with the lowest free energy), and likely the natural assembly mechanism within the host cell. The crystalographer Rosalind Franklin worked for Stanley for about a month at Berkeley , and later designed and built a model of TMV for the 1958 World's Fair at Brussels . In 1958 , she speculated that the virus was hollow, not solid, and hypothesized that the RNA of TMV is single-stranded. This conjecture was proven to be correct after her death and is now know to be the + strand. STRUCTURE ), 2. capsomer (protomer), 3. Capsid .]] |
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