RESUMO
Here we present a short review of application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for investigation of viruses, accompanied by examples of high-resolution AFM images of different viral particles. The possibility of using AFM to identify viruses is discussed.
Assuntos
Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Microscopia de Força Atômica/métodos , Viroses/patologia , Viroses/virologia , Vírus/classificação , Vírus/ultraestrutura , Humanos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Coat proteins (CPs) of plant viruses are involved in different stages of the viral life cycle such as virion assembly, replication, movement, vector transmission, and regulation of host defense responses. Here, we report that the CPs of two filamentous RNA viruses, potato virus X (PVX, Potexvirus) and potato virus A (PVA, Potyvirus) exhibit an enzyme activity. The CP isolated from PVX virions possesses ATP-binding and ATPase activities. Recombinant PVX and PVA CPs produced in Escherichia coli show Mg2+-dependent ATPase and UTPase activities inhibited by antibodies against virus particles. Deletion of the C-terminal regions of these proteins diminishes their ATPase activity.
