Explain the structure of TMV.

Explanation

1) TMV was the first virus to be crystallized by Stanley .
2) Fraenkel described the structure of TMV.
3) Tobacco Mosaic Virus is a rod shaped virus. It is about 300 nm long and 18 nm in diameter, with a molecular weight of `39 xx 10^6` Daltons.
4). The capsid is made up of 2,130 subunits called capsomeres.
5) Capsomeres are arranged in a helical manneraround a central core of 4 nm.
6). Each protein subunit is made up of a single polypeptide chain with 158 amino acids.
7) Single stranded RNA is present inside the capsid and is also spirally coiled.
8) RNA of TMV consists of 6,500 nucleotides.