Infectious material was formed at an early stage, and migrated into the mesophyll from the epidermis of tobacco leaves (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun NN) during the period of 1 to 3 hours after inoculation with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The activity of membrane-bound Mg(2+)-activated ATPase from the mesophyll was stimulated two to four times within 30 minutes after inoculation with 1.0 microgram per milliliter of TMV. Maximum TMV stimulation of membrane-bound Mg(2+)-activated ATPase activity in epidermis and mesophyll was observed at 0.5 and 3.0 hours after inoculation, respectively. This stimulation was also observed with ultraviolet irradiated TMV (only RNA was destroyed), whereas, the stimulation was not observed with heat-irradiated TMV (both coat and RNA were destroyed). Stimulation equal to that of TMV was observed by inoculation with cucumber green mottle mosaic virus and to a lesser extent with cucumber mosaic virus.These results illustrate that the stimulus resulting from inoculation with TMV transfers to underlying cells faster than the migration of TMV particles. This stimulus might be closely correlated to the structure of virus, but not to the infectivity of virus.