Tobacco Mosaic Virus, A Danger for Plants
Editorials News | Jun-15-2018
Discovered by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898 the Tobacco Mosaic Virus affects tobacco, tomatoes and other varieties of Solanaceous plants. It is a plant pathogen and is a member of a large group of viruses that belong to the genus Tobamovirus. The virus resembles rigid rods that are 300 nanometers long and 18 nanometers wide. It is a single strand of RNA coated with protein molecules that are stacked helically.
This virus enters the plants through wounds. The Virus hijacks the host plants protein synthesis machinery to produce viral proteins and makes copies of its RNA that spreads in the neighboring cells and slowly infects the whole plant. This virus spreads very fast and is difficult to contain. An infected leaf brushing against another healthy plant leaf is enough to transmit this virus into the healthy plants. Not just this, if a person handles an affected plant and touches any other things around like a door handle the virus sticks to the door handle and can easily be transmitted to other plants unknowingly. Luckily this is not spread majorly by insects except for occasional transmission by caterpillars or grasshoppers. The symptoms of TMV affected plants are stunted growth. Mosaic patterns of yellow and green leaves, malformation of leaves at the point of growth, yellow leaf veins and distinct yellow spotting. Treatment for TMV is removal of affected leaves and plants and should be burned. The infected plants should not be buried. Although the virus can multiply only within a living cell, but burying will not kill it, as can survive in dormant state in a dead tissue for years.
Madhuchanda Saxena
https://extension.psu.edu/tobacco-mosaic-virus-tmv
Related News
- Living Ahimsa: The Ethical Principles of Jainism
- Strategies for Amplifying Women's Voices in Political Leadership
- WPL vs IPL
- Know Interesting Facts About Maya Angelou
- SpaceX Makes History with Launch of World's Largest Rocket into Space
- Kerala Mumps Outbreak: Surpasses 11,000 Reported Cases in Under 3 Months
- Unraveling the Mystery of the Rare Bombay Blood Group
- Robert Downey Jr. Wins First Oscar
- Key Features of the Citizenship Amendment Act
- Understanding Tokenization: How It Works and Its Importance
Most popular news
- The Law Of Equivalent Exchange
- Essay On Issues And Challenges Of Rural Development In India
- Srinivasa Ramanujan And His Inventions
- The Youth Is The Hope Of Our Future!
- Poverty In India: Facts, Causes, Effects And Solutions
- Top 20 Outdoor Games In India
- Festivals Of India: Unity In Diversity
- Role Of Women In Society
- The Impact Of Peer Pressure On Students' Academic Performance
- Books As Companion