Tobamovirus Vectors for Expression of Recombinant Genes in Plants

Plant and animal RNA viruses are increasingly used for gene delivery and expression in a variety of host cells. At a molecular level these agents can be viewed as cytosolic parasites of the ribosome, successfully competing for translation with the host messenger RNA (mRNA) population. In many virus-infected plants, modified plasmodesmata between adjacent cells enable movement of progeny virus throughout the whole organism. Because of this unique virus-host interaction, crop plants provide an inexpensive source of biomass available for rapid genetic manipulations.