Biotechnological approaches for plant viruses resistance: from general to the modern RNA silencing pathway

Abstract

Virus diseases are significant threats to modern agriculture and their control remains a challenge to the management of cultivation. The main virus resistance strategies are based on either natural resistance or engineered virus-resistant plants. Recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the roles of resistance genes has promoted the development of new anti-virus strategies. Engineered plants, in particular plants expressing RNA-silencing nucleotides, are becoming increasingly important and are likely to provide more effective strategies in future. A general discussion on the biotechnology of plant responses to virus infection isfollowed by recent advances in engineered plant resistance.

Serological Identification of Virus in Watermelon Production Fields in the Tocantins State

“…The watermelon crop in Tocantins State occupies an area of approximately 4,000 hectares with production reaching about 90.7 tons, generating an average yield of 25.5 tons/hectare. Plant virus diseases are critical problems in agriculture and occurrence may be excluded if preventive strategies are established (Rodrigues et al 2009). Although the crop is of great economic and social importance in the state, there are few studies on the occurrence and species of viruses in the main producing regions.…”

Possibility of Producing One-Year Old Seedlings of the Autochthonous Brandy Varieties Grafting on the Generative Rootstock in the Region of North Montenegro

“…Autochthonous plum cultivars are a limiting factor in improving plum production in Montenegro. Nevertheless, they are used as an outstanding source of germplasm and as a genetic basis underlying breeding activities, principally the development of new cultivars, clonal selection (Ogašanović et al, 1994;Milošević, 2000), the development of new plum, apricot and peach rootstocks (Paunović, 1988;Djurić et al, 1998), resistance to economically important diseases (Paunović and Paunović, 1994;Rodrigues et al, 2009) or intensive cultivation (Mratinić, 2000). Similar investigations with focus on identical or similar objectives were also conducted in the other countries of the former Yugoslavia -Serbia (Milošević, 2000), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Buljko, 1977;Jarebica and Muratović, 1977), Croatia (Jelačić et al, 2008) and Slovenia (Usenik et al, 2007).…”

Fox grape cv. Bordô (Vitis labrusca L.) and grapevine cv. Chardonnay (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivated in vitro under different carbohydrates, amino acids and 6-Benzylaminopurine levels

“…Abiotic and biotic stress can be totally or partially overcome via genetic transformation. Viral resistance incorporated via genetic transformation is becoming increasingly important and is likely to provide more effective strategies in the future (Rodrigues et al 2009). The development of micropropagation protocols, somatic embryogenesis and cell suspension cultures represent the possibility to overcome the difficulties found in the current system of grapevines propagation.…”