Beyond Plant Disease
Potyvirus RNA codes for at least 7 different proteins. One of them is a protease. The TEV protease is a highly site-specific protease that biochemists have used to their advantage to create a protein purification system by incorporating TEV protease's recognition site into protein purification tags.
A gene construct is created containing the protein of interest fused to a TEV protease recognition site, followed by an affinity tag, such as a Polyhistidine-tag. Following affinity chromatography, the purified protein is then treated with TEV protease. TEV protease cleaves at its recognition site, removing the affinity tag. This allows for affinity purification of proteins that are not well-behaved when fused to protein tags. PMID 12963335
Read more about this topic: Tobacco Etch Virus
Famous quotes containing the words plant and/or disease:
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—George Washington (1732–1799)
“Is not disease the rule of existence? There is not a lily pad floating on the river but has been riddled by insects. Almost every shrub and tree has its gall, oftentimes esteemed its chief ornament and hardly to be distinguished from the fruit. If misery loves company, misery has company enough. Now, at midsummer, find me a perfect leaf or fruit.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)