Open AccessCan We Explain RNA-Mediated Virus Resistance by Homology-Dependent Gene Silencing?
Author(s) -
Tom van den Boogaart,
George P. Lomonossoff,
Jeffrey W. Davies
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
molecular plant-microbe interactions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.565
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1943-7706
pISSN - 0894-0282
DOI - 10.1094/mpmi.1998.11.7.717
Subject(s) - biology , rna , rna silencing , gene , transgene , gene silencing , genetics , homology (biology) , virus , homologous chromosome , rna induced silencing complex , computational biology , rna virus , virology , rna interference
The use of viral sequences to produce virus-resistant plants is now almost a standard technique. A variety of sequences from a large number of viruses have been used but the mechanisms remain largely unknown. There are probably at least two distinct types of mechanisms operating: one requiring the expression of the viral protein(s) and the other dependent only on the presence of transgene-derived RNA. In this review, we will discuss this RNA-mediated resistance and its similarities with cosuppression, a recently described phenomenon leading to suppression of transgene expression and homologous sequences. We present a critical view of the current models available to explain this type of resistance.