Structure of flexible filamentous plant viruses.
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.
Kendall
Amy
A
Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 351634, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
McDonald
Michele
M
Bian
Wen
W
Bowles
Timothy
T
Baumgarten
Sarah C
SC
Shi
Jian
J
Stewart
Phoebe L
PL
Bullitt
Esther
E
Gore
David
D
Irving
Thomas C
TC
Havens
Wendy M
WM
Ghabrial
Said A
SA
Wall
Joseph S
JS
Stubbs
Gerald
G
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
D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral