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Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) is a non-enveloped plant virus of the
comovirus ''Comovirus'' is a genus of viruses in the order ''Picornavirales'', in the family ''Secoviridae'', in the subfamily ''Comovirinae''. Plants serve as natural hosts. There are 15 species in this genus. Taxonomy The genus contains the following ...
group. Infection of a susceptible
cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...
leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...
causes a "mosaic" pattern in the leaf, and results in high virus yields (1-2 g/kg). Its
genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
consists of 2 molecules of positive-sense RNA (RNA-1 and RNA-2) which are separately encapsidated. Both RNA1 and RNA2 have a VPg (virus genome-linked protein) at the 5'end, and polyadenylation at the 3' end. Genomic RNA1 and RNA2 are expressed by a polyprotein processing strategy. RNA1 encodes helicase, VPg,
protease A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the ...
and RdRp. RNA2 encodes
movement protein In order for a virus to infect a plant, it must be able to move between cells so it can spread throughout the plant. Plant cell walls make this moving/spreading quite difficult and therefore, for this to occur, movement proteins must be present. A ...
and coat protein. The virus particles are 28 nm in diameter and contain 60 copies each of a Large (L) and Small (S) coat protein. The structure is well characterised to atomic resolution, and the viral particles are thermostable. The identification of the virus is attributed to Lister and Thresh in 1955, but it is now known as a variant of the Sunn-hemp mosaic virus. CPMV displays a number of features that can be exploited for nanoscale biomaterial
fabrication Fabrication may refer to: * Manufacturing, specifically the crafting of individual parts as a solo product or as part of a larger combined product. Processes in arts, crafts and manufacturing * Semiconductor device fabrication, the process used ...
. Its genetic, biological and physical properties are well characterised, and it can be isolated readily from plants. There are many stable mutants already prepared that allow specific modification of the capsid surface. It is possible to attach a number of different chemicals to the virus surface and to construct multilayer arrays of such nanoparticles on solid surfaces. This gives the natural or genetically engineered nanoparticles a range of properties which could be useful in nanotechnological applications such as biosensors,
catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
and nanoelectronic devices. One example use of CPMV particles is to amplify signals in
microarray A microarray is a multiplex lab-on-a-chip. Its purpose is to simultaneously detect the expression of thousands of genes from a sample (e.g. from a tissue). It is a two-dimensional array on a solid substrate—usually a glass slide or silicon ...
based sensors. In this application, the virus particles separate the
fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...
dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...
s used for signaling in order to prevent the formation of non-fluorescent
dimer Dimer may refer to: * Dimer (chemistry), a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units ** Protein dimer, a protein quaternary structure ** d-dimer * Dimer model, an item in statistical mechanics, based on ''domino tiling'' * Julius Dimer ( ...
s that act as quenchers. Another example is the use of CPMV as a nanoscale
breadboard A breadboard, solderless breadboard, or protoboard is a construction base used to build semi-permanent prototypes of electronic circuits. Unlike a perfboard or stripboard, breadboards do not require soldering or destruction of tracks and are h ...
for molecular electronics. CPMV particles have also shown potential for in-situ vaccination in cancer immunotherapy


References


External links


Separation and recovery of intact gold-virus complex
by
agarose electrophoresis Agarose is a heteropolysaccharide, generally extracted from certain red seaweed. It is a linear polymer made up of the repeating unit of agarobiose, which is a disaccharide made up of D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactopyranose. Agarose is o ...
and
electroelution Electroelution is a method used to extract a nucleic acid or a protein sample from an electrophoresis Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the mot ...
: Application to the purification of cowpea mosaic virus and colloidal gold complex
ICTVdB—The Universal Virus Database: Cowpea mosaic virus
*ICTV Virus Taxonomy 200
UniProt Taxonomy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowpea Mosaic Virus Comoviruses Viral plant pathogens and diseases