title: Structure of flexible filamentous plant viruses.
abstract: Flexible filamentous viruses make up a large fraction of the known plant viruses, but in comparison with those of other viruses, very little is known about their structures. We have used fiber diffraction, cryo-electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy to determine the symmetry of a potyvirus, soybean mosaic virus; to confirm the symmetry of a potexvirus, potato virus X; and to determine the low-resolution structures of both viruses. We conclude that these viruses and, by implication, most or all flexible filamentous plant viruses share a common coat protein fold and helical symmetry, with slightly less than 9 subunits per helical turn.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 351634, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bowles
authors.forename: Sarah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Baumgarten
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Phoebe L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bullitt
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gore
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Irving
authors.forename: Wendy M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Havens
authors.forename: Said A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ghabrial
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stubbs
mesh_terms: D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy; D052677:Flexiviridae / Q000737:chemistry; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D017863:Potexvirus / Q000235:genetics*; D017800:Potyvirus / Q000737:chemistry; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014771:Virion
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral