How Do Virus Coat Protein Genes Make Plant Cells Resistant to Viruses?

[chound]

My Bio textbook says that, by introducing the virus coat protein gene into a plant cell the cell becomes virus resistant. How is that possible?

 

[jim mcnamara]

For tobacco mosaic virus - this paper explains results:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/6/3645

In this case, the presence of some variants of the coat protein inhibit the production/effectiveness of the MP - mobilization protein - which in turn slows down the transmission of the virus from cell to cell.

 

[ravenprp]

The introduction of the virus coat protein gene into a plant cell allows the cell to produce the virus coat protein. This protein is a key component of the virus's structure and is essential for the virus to infect and replicate within a plant cell. By producing the virus coat protein, the plant cell is essentially mimicking the appearance of an already infected cell, tricking the virus into thinking it has already successfully invaded the cell. As a result, the virus is unable to infect the cell and replicate, making the plant cell resistant to the virus. This process is known as "gene silencing" and is a natural defense mechanism of plants against viruses.