Anti-TMGMV polyclonal antibody

The tobamoviruses tobacco mild green mosaic virus (TMGMV) and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) differ in their behavior in Nicotiana megalosiphon. Both viruses induce necrotic lesion formation in the inoculated leaves, but only TMV moves from the initially infected (necrotic) areas and is able to spread systemically, overcoming the hypersensitive response. The appearance and growth of necrotic local lesions induced by TMV or TMGMV in N. megalosiphon were shown to follow similar kinetics; however, virus accumulation in the local lesions was about five times greater for TMV than for TMGMV. In accordance with this, TMV replicated to much higher levels than TMGMV did in N. megalosiphon protoplasts. In N. tabacum 'Xanthi-nc,' a hypersensitive host for both viruses that was used as a control, no difference was observed in the kinetics of local lesion development nor in virus accumulation, either in local lesions or in protoplasts, for TMV or TMGMV. Thus, the ability of TMV, but not of TMGMV, to overcome the hypersensitive response of N. megalosiphon does not appear to be related to differences in the elicitation of the hypersensitive response but rather to the differential effect of a second resistance factor over the multiplication of TMGMV but not of TMV.

Plant parasitic nematodes are a major burden to the global agricultural industry, causing a $157 billion loss each year in crop production worldwide. Effective treatment requires large doses of nematicides to be applied, putting the environment and human health at risk. Challenges are to treat nematodes that are located deep within the soil, feeding on the roots of plants. To attack the problem at its roots, we propose the use of tobacco mild green mosaic virus (TMGMV), an EPA-approved herbicide as a carrier to deliver nematicides. TMGMV self-assembles into a 300 x 18 run soft matter nanorod with a 4 run-wide hollow channel. This plant virus is, comprised of 2130 identical coat protein subunits, each of which displays solvent-exposed carboxylate groups from Glu/Asp as well as Tyr side chains, enabling the functionalization of the carrier with cargo. We report (1) the successful formulation and characterization of TMGMV loaded with, similar to 1500 copies of the anthelmintic drug crystal violet (CV), (2) the bioavailability and treatment efficacy of cvTMGMV vs CV to nematodes in liquid cultures, and (3) the superior soil mobility of cvTMGMV compared to free CV.