Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is a ''
Potyvirus
''Potyvirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Potyviridae''. Plants serve as natural hosts. The genus is named after member virus ''potato virus Y''. Potyviruses account for about thirty percent of the currently known ...
'' of the family ''
Potyviridae
''Potyviridae'' is a family of positive-strand RNA viruses that encompasses more than 30% of known plant viruses, many of which are of great agricultural significance. The family has 12 genera and 235 species, three of which are unassigned to a ...
'' that causes diseases in
cruciferous plants, among others. The virus is usually spread by 40-50 species of
aphids
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...
in a non-persistent manner. Infected plants, especially the natural hosts, show symptoms such as chlorotic local lesions, mosaic, mottling, puckering or rugosity. TuMV is a positive-sense single stranded
RNA virus
An RNA virus is a virusother than a retrovirusthat has ribonucleic acid (RNA) as its genetic material. The nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA ( ssRNA) but it may be double-stranded (dsRNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA viruses ...
, consisting of a non-enveloped, helical
capsid
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may ...
that is filamentous and