tobacco mosaic

noun

, Plant Pathology.

1. a disease of the nightshade family of plants, particularly tobacco and tomato, caused by the tobacco mosaic virus and characterized by mottled leaves and yellowed, necrotic plants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tobacco mosaic¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

While Stanley was turning tobacco mosaic viruses into crystals, a Princeton biologist named John Gowen was blasting them with X-rays.

From New York Times

The two collaborated on the structure of tobacco mosaic virus.

From Nature

With Franklin, Dr. Klug worked on the structure of tobacco mosaic virus, a springboard to learning more about molecular structure.

From Washington Post

Scientists were only first able to visualize a virus, the tobacco mosaic virus, after the 1931 invention of the electron microscope.

From Scientific American

Also aiding our cause was my work on tobacco mosaic virus.

From Literature