Plant Viruses
Diseased plants are responsible for serious losses to our crops.
They are all more important in plantation crop as also those which are propagated vegetatively. Ever since the discovery of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in 1892, over three hundred viruses attacking plants have been described. It is now known that damage caused by the plant viruses probably equals that due to all other diseases causing agents. This group of diseases, because of their economic importance has received due attention in many countries and science of virology has been established. The most outstanding advances made are isolation and crystallization of several viruses, studies of their chemical composition and biochemical studies.
The purification of plant viruses, which was originally effected by the drastic chemical methods, has been replaced by less harmful high speed centrifugation method. Great improvements have been made in the high speed centrifuges, and refrigerated ultracentrifuges and now been used in isolation of viruses and study of their physical properties. More attention has been paid to the study of properties of the purified virus preparation which have helped a great deal in the proper understanding of nature and properties of viruses. The modern techniques had made possible direct study of size and shape of virus particles and molecular arrangement on the phases of virus crystal so that virus now can be seen directly and their electron micrographs taken. Investigation has also been carried out on relationship of viruses and their insect vectors. During recently years attempts have been made to study the mechanism of insect transmission.
Evidence of hereditary transmission of viruses in insects and the multiplication of viruses in insect body has been obtained. Techniques have been deviced to directly inoculate the insects by injecting infective insect’s juices and to get direct evidence of multiplication of the viruses in insects through serum transfer. A variety of new species of insects such as, mealy bugs and mites have been shown to be the vectors of virus diseases in recent years. So that new and more potent vectors are being established.
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13 Responses to “Plant Viruses”
On February 22, 2009 at 9:22 am
Great pictures!
On February 22, 2009 at 10:11 am
Excellent article — and important reading. Great pics too.
On February 22, 2009 at 10:22 am
interesting article
On February 22, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Interesting – thanks!
On February 22, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Virology supporting plants.
On February 23, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Very good information, thanks for sharing.
Sabbay
AdventistWheat
On February 24, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Nice!!!
On March 20, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Great article! Useful I’m starting a garden of my own..
On March 20, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Fascinating piece. I wish I could grow a garden, but the environment in my backyard is not well suited, at least not yet.
On March 20, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Interesting information.
On March 20, 2009 at 11:25 pm
This is great and just in time.Our baby bamboo has questionable stalks.
Thanks
On March 21, 2009 at 2:40 am
Interesting!
On March 26, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Does make it nearly impossible to grow older varieties of tomatoes in the Pacific Northwest. A real shame.
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