Transgenerational antiviral barrier in plants

Plant viruses account for large losses in crop yields every year. While plant virology is an important field of plant-pathogen interaction, studied since more than 100 years, several core aspects of plant- virus interaction remain poorly understood. One of them is the observation that many pathogenic viruses cannot enter plant apical meristems, organs containing the stem cells necessary for plant survival, growth and reproduction. It is believed that exclusion from meristems can prevent viruses from entering the gametes and resulting progeny. Little is known about the molecular events responsible for this antiviral barrier, which has evident biological and economic significance. The objective of this project is to investigate exclusion of viruses from meristem and progeny through a series of cutting-edge molecular approaches, while laying the experimental bases for long-term research on the topic. We will use the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, to benefit from its established advantages during experimental manipulation and investigation of complex biological mechanisms. We will generate and use a variety of fluorescent reporter viruses to observe virus movement and antiviral defense in plants during infection. We will interfere with plant defenses specifically in meristematic and gametic cells and ask if this leads to virus invasion into reproductive tissues and virus transmission to progeny. We will determine which genes are switched on and off in stem cells during infection, to identify which factors are involved in the antiviral barrier. Rapid assays to determine rates of virus transmission to plant progeny will also be developed. With these experimental approaches, we expect to contribute to future development of antiviral strategies in agriculture.

No additional funding sources recorded.