Virus-Induced Gene Silencing


Book Description

Plants are amazing organisms to study, some are important sources for pharmaceuticals, and others can help to elucidate molecular mechanisms required for a plant’s development and its interactions with the biotic or abiotic environment. Functional genomics is vastly lagging behind the speed of genome sequencing as high-throughput gene function assays are difficult to design, specifically for non-model plants. Bioinformatics tools are useful for gene identification and annotation but are of limited value for predictions concerning gene functions as gene functions are uncovered best by experimental approaches. Virus-Induced-Gene-Silencing (VIGS) is an easy to use, fast, and reliable method to achieve down regulation of target gene expression. Virus-Induced Gene Silencing: Methods and Protocols provides detailed protocols for VIGS experiments in several plant species including model and non-model plants. Also included in this book are recently developed protocols for VIGS-derived microRNA production in the plant or protein over expression, as well as chapters devoted to summarizing the molecular mechanisms of VIGS action and the vector systems developed so far. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Virus-Induced Gene Silencing: Methods and Protocols serves as a valuable resource for researchers from diverse fields of plant biology interested in experimental approaches to analyzing gene functions.




Plant Viruses: From Ecology to Control


Book Description

Plant viruses cause many of the most important diseases threatening crops worldwide. Over the last quarter of a century, an increasing number of plant viruses have emerged in various parts of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. As is generally observed for plant viruses, most of the emerging viruses are transmitted horizontally by biological vectors, mainly insects. Reverse genetics using infectious clones--available for many plant viruses--has been used for identification of viral determinants involved in virus-host and virus-vector interactions. Although many studies have identified a number of factors involved in disease development and transmission, the precise mechanisms are unknown for most of the virus-plant-vector combinations. In most cases, the diverse outcomes resulting from virus-virus interactions are poorly understood. Although significant advances have been made towards understand the mechanisms involved in plant resistance to viruses, we are far from being able to apply this knowledge to protect cultivated plants from the all viral threats.The aim of this Special Issue was to provide a platform for researchers interested in plant virology to share their recent results. To achieve this, we invited the plant virology community to submit research articles, short communications and reviews related to the various aspects of plant virology: ecology, virus-plant host interactions, virus-vector interactions, virus-virus interactions, and control strategies. This issue contains some of the best current research in plant virology.




Pepper Virome


Book Description

Pepper Virome: Molecular Biology, Diagnostics and Management presents detailed information about the plant viruses that infect pepper worldwide, providing crucial insights for both the scientific community and producers. Understanding the nature of the viruses, their transmission methods and possible sources of resistance in order to minimize the yield losses as well as to reduce the spread of these viruses to new locations or countries is of global importance.Pepper is an important commodity worldwide. It is cultivated for both fresh produce and for processing industry as a spice. However, various diseases affect pepper production and cause significant yield losses in pepper yield. The increasing outbreaks of virus species infecting Capsicum spp. have become a major problem for growers. A combination of factors, including expansion and intensification of pepper cultivation, availability of volunteer hosts, abundance of insect vectors and climate change have all contributed to the issue. Pepper Virome provides in-depth information on both the viruses infecting peppers, and eco-friendly management measures to decrease the rate of spread of viruses. Addressing the need for increased international collaboration and exchange of pepper germplasm, these insights will also facilitate the selection and breeding for improved Capsicum spp. adapted to local conditions and uses. - Focuses on symptomatology, transmission, and epidemiology of pepper viruses - Reveals the impact on host, yield, and virus-vector interactions - Evaluates management strategies against viruses and how they have evolved




Geminivirus: Detection, Diagnosis and Management


Book Description

Geminivirus: Detection, Diagnosis and Management focuses on the latest techniques for managing diseases caused by these circular, single-stranded (ss) DNA genomes. The most significant impact of plant diseases in host populations is often caused by emerging diseases, whose incidence in a plant host is increasing as a result of long-term changes in their underlying epidemiology. Genetic changes in pathogen and host populations, as well as changes in host ecology and environment, are major factors contributing to disease emergence. Understanding plant virus evolution is crucial for modeling the within-host and between-host dynamics and genetics of virus populations. The book presents a comprehensive review of how these viruses develop, including contributing factors such as population bottlenecks during cell-to-cell movement, systemic colonization, or between-host transmission by different procedures. Presented in five sections—Detection and Diagnosis, Emergence and Diversity, Vector and Transmission, Virus–Host Interaction, and Disease Management, the book includes host range determinant and virulence factors involved in pathogenesis, virus–vector interactions during acquisition, retention, and transmission and evaluating management strategies to control Geminivirus. The book is an essential reference for students and researchers interested in plant virology, particularly begomoviruses, geminiviruses, and vector transmission biology. - Introduces identification and characterization of geminiviruses that infect agricultural crops, their wild relatives, and weed hosts - Discusses recombination and reassortment mechanisms influencing viral genetic diversity, virulence, and vector transmission - Explores the origin, evolution, and bottlenecks of Geminiviruses - Introduces identification and characterization of geminiviruses that infect agricultural crops, their wild relatives, and weed hosts - Discusses recombination and reassortment mechanisms influencing viral genetic diversity, virulence, and vector transmission - Explores the origin, evolution, and bottlenecks of Geminiviruses




Current Research Topics in Plant Virology


Book Description

Topics covered in this book include RNA silencing and its suppression in plant virus infection, virus replication mechanisms, the association of cellular membranes with virus replication and movement, plant genetic resistance to viruses, viral cell-to-cell spread, long distance movement in plants, virus induced ER stress, virus diversity and evolution, virus-vector interactions, cross protection, geminiviruses, negative strand RNA viruses, viroids, and the diagnosis of plant viral diseases using next generation sequencing. This book was anticipated to help plant pathologists, scholars, professors, teachers and advanced students in the field with a comprehensive state-of-the-art knowledge of the subject.




Plant Viruses


Book Description

Plant viruses are significant as they affect our food supply and are capable of rapidly spreading to new plant species, so a comprehensive study of plant viruses is important in understanding their pathogenesis and prevention. This book focuses on the plant virus evolution, their molecular classification, epidemics and management. The key features in the book includes genome organization, translation and replication, virus-coded proteinases, structure of virus particles, cell receptors and host range, the RNA polymerase, quasispecies dynamics and virus evolution, and its natural habitats.




Plastids—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition


Book Description

Plastids—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyBrief™ that delivers timely, authoritative, comprehensive, and specialized information about Plastids in a concise format. The editors have built Plastids—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Plastids in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Plastids—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.




Plant Resistance to Viruses


Book Description

Concern about the environmental consequences of the widespread use of pesticides has increased, and evidence of pesticide-resistant virus vectors have continued to emerge. This volume presents a timely survey of the mechanisms of plant resistance and examines current developments in breeding for resistance, with particular emphasis on advances in genetic engineering which allow for the incorporation of viral genetic material into plants. Discusses the mechanisms of innate resistance in strains of tobacco, tomato, and cowpea; various aspects of induced resistance, including the characterization and roles of the pathogenesis-related proteins; antiviral substances and their comparison with interferon; and cross-protection between plant virus strains. Also presents several papers which evaluate the status of genetic engineering as it relates to breeding resistant plants. Among these are discussions of the potential use of plant viruses as gene vectors, gene coding for viral coat protein, satellite RNA, and antisense RNA, and practical issues such as the durability of resistant crop plants in the field.