Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

The carbohydrate-containing polymer 1,3;1,6-ß-Dglucan was obtained by transformation of laminaran from the alga Laminaria cichorioides with endo-ß-1,3- glucanase from marine mollusks. In electron microscope observations of phosphotungstic acid-stained preparations from Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun leaves inoculated with a mixture of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) (1 µg/ml) and glucan (1 mg/ml) or with TMV alone, we found that such preparations contained, along with virus particles of normal diameter (about 18 nm), abnormal (swollen and thinner) particles. The highest number of thin viral particles was found in dips from leaves inoculated with TMV together with glucan. It is suggested that this may be caused by a glucan-mediated increase of TMV particle proteolysis in infected leaves.