InterPro domain: IPR028919

This family includes a variety of movement proteins (MP)s. The MP is necessary for the initial cell-to-cell movement during the early stages of a viral infection. This movement is active, and it is known that the MP interacts with the plasmodesmata and possesses the ability to bind to RNA to achieve its role [ 1 ]. It has been suggested in cauliflower mosaic virus that these proteins mediated viral movement by modifying plasmodesmata and forming tubules in the channel that can accommodate the virus particles [ 2 ]. The family contains a conserved DXR motif that is probably functionally important.

1. Effects of terminal deletion mutations on function of the movement protein of tobacco mosaic virus. Virology 187, 499-507
2. The movement proteins of cowpea mosaic virus and cauliflower mosaic virus induce tubular structures in plant and insect cells. J. Gen. Virol. 77 ( Pt 11), 2857-64