Abstract
For plant viruses to disseminate within host plants, viral DNA needs to traverse the cellulose cell wall to gain access to new target cells. How viruses can move within an individual infected plant has been controversial for the agronomically important group of plant viruses known as the geminiviruses. Three viral proteins mediate transport: the coat protein (CP), the nuclear shuttle protein (NSP), and the movement protein (MP). All three are implicated in forcing the transit of viral DNA through plasmodesmata— “tunnels” across plant cellulose walls. Hehnle et al. examined the binding characteristics of the three transport proteins to plasmid DNA. The data support a “couple-skating” model, in which NSP and MP cooperate in binding viral DNA. MP appears to insert itself and bind to single-stranded DNA segments within the double-stranded supercoiled DNA molecule. MP is membrane- anchored and thus should be able to cooperate with NSP to drag the viral DNA across the cell wall. MP would also appear to help to spread out the DNA at the cell membrane, which may ease its passage as it threads through the narrow plasmodesmata into the neighboring cell. — CA
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
