Structure of southern bean mosaic virus at 2.8 Å resolution

• DOI: 10.1038/286033a0
• Publication Date: 2004-11-17T17:41:33Z
• Authors: Celerino Abad-Zap...; Sherin S. Abdel-M...; John E. Johnson; Andrew G. W. Leslie; Ivan Rayment; Michael G. Rossmann; Dietrich Suck; Tomitake Tsukihara
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; 3. Good health

X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the polypeptide chain of the southern bean mosaic virus protein subunit has a fold closely similar to the shell domain of tomato bushy stunt virus. The protruding domain of tomato bushy stunt virus is absent in southern bean mosaic virus. The tertiary structure observed in these viruses may be particularly suitable for the formation of the protein coat in small, spherical, RNA-containing, plant viruses.