Cauliflower mosaic virus: Virus-host interactions and its uses in biotechnology and medicine

Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) was the first discovered plant virus with genomic DNA that uses reverse transcriptase for replication. The CaMV 35S promoter is a constitutive promoter and thus, an attractive driver of gene expression in plant biotechnology. It is used in most transgenic crops to activate foreign genes which have been artificially inserted into the host plant. In the last century, producing food for the world's population while preserving the environment and human health is the main topic of agriculture. The damage caused by viral diseases has a significant negative economic impact on agriculture, and disease control is based on two strategies: immunization and prevention to contain virus spread, so correct identification of plant viruses is important for disease management. Here, we discuss CaMV from different aspects: taxonomy, structure and genome, host plants and symptoms, transmission and pathogenicity, prevention, control and application in biotechnology as well as in medicine. Also, we calculated the CAI index for three ORFs IV, V, and VI of the CaMV virus in host plants, the results of which can be used in the discussion of gene transfer or antibody production to identify the CaMV.