title: Engineered Tobacco mosaic virus mutants with distinct physical characteristics in planta and enhanced metallization properties.
abstract: Tobacco mosaic virus mutants were engineered to alter either the stability or surface chemistry of the virion: within the coat protein, glutamic acid was exchanged for glutamine in a buried portion to enhance the inter-subunit binding stability (E50Q), or a hexahistidine tract was fused to the surface-exposed carboxy terminus of the coat protein (6xHis). Both mutant viruses were expected to possess specific metal ion affinities. They accumulated to high titers in plants, induced distinct phenotypes, and their physical properties during purification differed from each other and from wild type (wt) virus. Whereas 6xHis and wt virions contained RNA, the majority of E50Q protein assembled essentially without RNA into rods which frequently exceeded 2 μm in length. Electroless deposition of nickel metallized the outer surface of 6xHis virions, but the central channel of E50Q rods, with significantly more nanowires of increased length in comparison to those formed in wtTMV.
authors.affiliation: Universität Stuttgart, Institute of Biology, Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Plant Virology, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany. anan.kadri@bio.uni-stuttgart.de
authors.forename: Anan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kadri
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maiss
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amsharov
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bittner
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balci
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeske
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wege
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D053770:Nanowires / Q000821:virology; D009532:Nickel / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000821:virology*; D014027:Tobacco Mosaic Virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014771:Virion / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D009532:Nickel