''Tobacco virtovirus 1'', informally called Tobacco mosaic satellite virus, Satellite tobacco mosaic virus (STMV), or tobacco mosaic satellite virus, is a satellite virus first reported in ''

Nicotiana glauca ''Nicotiana glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by petioles (many other ''Nicotiana'' spec ...

'' from

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, U.S.. Its

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

consists of linear positive-sense single-stranded

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

. ''Tobacco virtovirus 1'' is a small, icosahedral

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathoge ...

which worsens the symptoms of

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

by ''

Tobacco mosaic virus Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus '' Tobamovirus'' that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteris ...

'' (TMV). Satellite viruses are some of the smallest possible reproducing units in nature; they achieve this by relying on both the host cell and a host-virus (in this case, TMV) for the machinery necessary for them to reproduce. The entire ''Tobacco virtovirus 1'' particle consists of 60 identical copies of a single protein (CP) that make up the viral

capsid A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or m ...

(coating), and a 1063-nucleotide single-stranded RNA genome which codes for the capsid and one other protein of unknown function. In a broader sense, the Tobacco Mosaic Virus holds distinctive properties, which primarily include how they are distributed and the range of their hosts. They can be found within Nicotious Glauna plants, which are typically located in warmer areas, such as the United States in California and the South American region in Bolivia and Argentina. Satellite viruses like the Tobacco Vitro Virus 1 tend to be commonly located in the same tobacco tree plant(N. Glauca), which can be described as a tall shrub that possesses small leaves, that show signs of viral infection through its mosaic and yellow complexion. The Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Virus also has a variety of alternative virus helpers, which include tomatoes tobacco, and peppers, but has yet to be found in alternate crop plants. Additionally, the Tobacco Mosaic Virus has distinctive features in cells, which are particularly instances where virus crystals may form, as well as other protein bodies within unit membrane-bound structures. The membrane that surrounds these crystals contains many vesicles which allows for genome replication to take place. These specific cells that are infected with the virus are also linked to characteristic features associated with infection from the virus the Tobacco Mild Green, showing that these individual cells are twice as infected. As replication occurs between the two viruses, they are separately compartmentalized within a single cell, which has implications for how the satellite virus uses the TMGMV virus gene products like replicates.

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