Causal agent of sharka disease: Plum pox virus genome and function of gene products

Our understanding of the molecular biology of Plum pox virus (PPV) and of the interactions between the virus and its hosts has advanced notably in recent years. Complete genome sequences have been obtained showing up the existence of new subgroups. Functions related to replication, symptom induction, virus movement, and interference with host defense mechanisms have been assigned to the different protein products derived from the proteolytic processing of PPV polyprotein. Moreover, the use of new approaches to define protein–protein interactions between the different viral proteins and between these and the host proteins has begun to yield the first results improving our understanding of how the virus and its host interact during infection.