Engineering Molecular Immunity Against Plant Viruses

Syed Shan-e-Ali Zaidi, Manal Tashkandi, Magdy M. Mahfouz

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Genomic engineering has been used to precisely alter eukaryotic genomes at the single-base level for targeted gene editing, replacement, fusion, and mutagenesis, and plant viruses such as Tobacco rattle virus have been developed into efficient vectors for delivering genome-engineering reagents. In addition to altering the host genome, these methods can target pathogens to engineer molecular immunity. Indeed, recent studies have shown that clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated 9 (Cas9) systems that target the genomes of DNA viruses can interfere with viral activity and limit viral symptoms in planta, demonstrating the utility of this system for engineering molecular immunity in plants. CRISPR/Cas9 can efficiently target single and multiple viral infections and confer plant immunity. Here, we discuss the use of site-specific nucleases to engineer molecular immunity against DNA and RNA viruses in plants. We also explore how to address the potential challenges encountered when producing plants with engineered resistance to single and mixed viral infections.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProgress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science
PublisherElsevier BV
Pages167-186
Number of pages20
ISBN (Print)9780128117439
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 26 2017

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