Viral Diseases in Plants

Viral Diseases in Plants

Viruses are responsible for a range of diseases in cultivated plants, and the very first virus ever discovered, the Tobacco Mosaic Virus, is itself the cause of one such disease: tobacco mosaic disease. Plants infected with TMV develop a characteristic mottled, mosaic-like pattern of light and dark green patches on their leaves, along with stunted growth, as the virus multiplies within the plant's cells and interferes with normal leaf development. Because TMV is a rigid, stable, rod-shaped particle, it can spread readily through mechanical contact - for instance, on tools, hands or through contact between damaged leaves - which …