TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS2
COMPARING MICROBIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS
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Comparing microbial structure and function across taxonomic groups
TMV is a rodded virus inhabiting plants such as tobacco, resulting in mosaic patterns appearing on their leaves. It was among the first viruses discovered; scientists have used it for substantial research projects. TMV’s simplicity is characterized by a single-stranded RNA genome plus a helical capsid made of stacked protein ring molecules, contributing to its popularity as a model virus (“Tobacco mosaic virus (tobacco mosaic),” 2022). Plants can be seriously damaged, and a tiny virus can degrade their production. Capsid protein organization and TMV’s excellent symmetry remain the TMV structure’s fundamentals.
The capsid is the protein tube that encases the viral genome, consisting of single-stranded RNA (Fraenkel-Conrat, 1986). The RNA has a mere 4 genes that encode the minimal number of proteins needed for viral replication and the formation of the viral structure (Scholthof et al., 1999). Due to its small structure, TMV is characterized by high stability and therefore, scientific studies of this virus are convenient. The unusual shape of TMV is basically due to its helical shell (capsid) formed from stacked rings of the same proteins. This capsid of the protein cylinder encloses and shelters the single-stranded RNA genome within. The geometric and self-assembly characteristics of capsids have been the subject of intense studies in structural biology and nanotechnology applications.
TMV’s protein coat was finally resolved in the 1930s by X-ray crystallography studies made by Bernal and Fankuchen scientists, and it was discovered that this capsid structure is helical. However, it can be barely seen because of the experimental resolution. This was an innovative attempt in structural biology (“Tobacco mosaic virus (tobacco mosaic),” 2022). At the beginning of the 1970s, studies employing X-ray diffraction with resolution 2.9 Angstroms revealed the molecular forms of capsid’s component protein linked together in a helix’s atomic form (Fraenkel-Conrat, 1986). In the 1990s, the protein capsid of a virus tube can be seen under cryo-electron microscopes that visualize the virus genome and some of the most minor details (Scholthof et al., 1999). Together, data obtained from these biophysical experiments has enabled detailed reconstructions of the structural models that explain the TMV’s simple basic units that self-assemble to build that stable structural integrity. This ground-breaking TMV determination of a structure opened the path to the virus’s general structures.
Whereas structural studies are striving to give just a physical appearance of TMV, analyses of mutations are helping to know the functions of those components during the viral life cycle. The genetic link to capsid assembly of coat protein genes has been cracked by explicitly targeting the mutations in those sequences, which underlines the significance of such sequences (Scholthof et al., 1999). The analysis of mutations in the viral RNA has revealed locations of functional motifs, like assembly sequences, that, in turn, initiate shell formation (“Tobacco mosaic virus (tobacco mosaic),” 2022). The fundamental molecular mechanisms of TMV disassembly are made more apparent through the development of infected and uninfected tobacco cell mutants to understand how the viral RNA is released for replication (Fraenkel-Conrat, 1986). Moreover, mutational data analysis underscores TMV’s expressional strategies and host interactions that contribute to toxicity prompting disease. On balance, overlapping structural knowledge with functional genomics comes together to capture the pure simplicity framework underpinning the TMV’s effectiveness as a pathogen.
References
Fraenkel-Conrat, H. (1986). Tobacco mosaic virus the history of tobacco mosaic virus and the evolution of molecular biology. The Plant Viruses, 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7026-0_1
Scholthof, K. G., Shaw, J. G., & Zaitlin, M. (1999). Tobacco mosaic virus: One hundred years of contributions to virology. American Phytopathological Society.
Tobacco mosaic virus (tobacco mosaic). (2022). CABI Compendium. https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.54166
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