Cytopathology of satellite tobacco mosaic virus and its helper virus in tobacco

Abstract

Ultrastructural responses of tobacco cells infected with a newly discovered satellite virus (STMV) that has an isometric morphology and is associated with rigid rodshaped tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were studied in situ. In cells infected with TMV alone,TMV particles occurred as crystalline arrays in the cytoplasm and were usually associated with TMV-characteristic X bodies. In cells infected with both TMV and STMV, particles of STMV occurred only in cells that contained TMV particles, which suggests a correlation between the satellite and helper virus presence. However, the replication and/or accumulation sites of STMV appear to be independent from its helper virus. Unlike TMV particles, STMV particles were associated with several cytopathic structures such as granular inclusions, membranous vesicles of 50–80 nm, and myelin-like bodies which were all bounded by a single common membrane, No X bodies occurred in cells containing STMV particles, and the mitochondria possessed abnormal tubular structures containing flocculent material.