Question

What is the total number of amino acids when the capsid of TMV contains 2130 capsomeres?
A. 162622
B. 948
C. 387921
D. 336540

Answer 1

Hint: Viruses are the non-living creatures which use the host machinery to replicate and survive. They can have genetic material as RNA or DNA. They are difficult to identify and treat. Due to their fast multiplication, it is usually detected when it has spread at mass in the body.

Complete answer:
Tobacco mosaic virus is TMV. It is a rod-shaped virus. A single protein monomer has 158 amino acids in them. They are arranged in the four alpha-helices joined by a loop proximal to the axis of virion.
TMV infects the plants, especially tobacco. This causes a mottling of the leaves and also discolouration. The TMV genome has 6.5 kb ss RNA. The genome has the 4 ORFs (open reading frames).
The 4 genes encode for replicase, helicase, RNA polymerase and Capsid protein. A virion has a nucleic acid(RNA), Protomer(capsomer protein) and a capsid.
Capsid Is the coat protein of the virus. It is the protein shell of the virus. It has oligomeric subunits of a protein called protomers. The 3D subunits are the capsomeres.
 So if the 1 protein has 158 amino acids,
Then amino acids in 2130 capsid coat protein will be 2130*158 = 336540

So the answer is option D: 336540.

Note: TMV was the first virus to be discovered. Adolf Meyer described the tobacco virus. Dmitri Ivanovsky was the first to get the evidence. It is a thermostable virus that could withstand up to 50 degrees of temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. It has a refractive index of approximately 1.57.