Abstract
Several purified species of human leukocyte interferon, including recombinant interferons, inhibit the multiplication of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in tobacco protoplasts derived from various cultivars. Viral RNA accumulation was determined by dot-blot hybridization to specific cDNA probes, and virus antigen was determined serologically. Interferon apparently inhibited both TMV-RNA replication and its expression into coat protein. However, these effects were of limited duration. Maximum effect was obtained when interferon was applied to the cells either prior to inoculation or within the first hour after inoculation. Antibodies to interferon abolished its antiviral activity in protoplasts. Tobacco protoplasts were about 1000 times more responsive to interferon than the reference animal viral-cell system and showed an “antiviral state” at a ratio of 1 molecule of interferon per cell.
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