Virus crystallisation is the re-arrangement of viral components into solid crystal particles. The crystals are composed of thousands of inactive forms of a particular virus arranged in the shape of a prism. The inactive nature of virus crystals provide advantages for immunologists to effectively analyze the structure and function behind viruses. Understanding of such characteristics have been enhanced thanks to the enhancement and diversity in crystallisation technologies. Virus crystals have a deep history of being widely applied in epidemiology and virology, and still to this day remains a catalyst for studying viral patterns to mitigate potential disease outbreaks.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Virus crystallisation
- Virus crystallisation in the context of Tobacco mosaic virus
Virus crystallisation in the context of Tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus Tobamovirus that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns, such as "mosaic"-like mottling and discoloration on the leaves (hence the name). TMV was the first virus to be discovered. Although it was known from the late 19th century that a non-bacterial infectious disease was damaging tobacco crops, it was not until 1930 that the infectious agent was determined to be a virus. It is the first pathogen identified as a virus. The virus was crystallised by Wendell Meredith Stanley. It has a similar size to the largest synthetic molecule, known as PG5 with comparable length and diameter.
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