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Plant Gene Silencing pp 81–92Cite as

RNAi-Mediated Resistance to Viruses in Genetically Engineered Plants

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 1287)

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a leading technology in designing genetically modified crops engineered to resist viral infection. The last decades have seen the development of a large number of crops whose inherent posttranscriptional gene silencing mechanism has been exploited to target essential viral genes through the production of dsRNA that triggers an endogenous RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), leading to gene silencing in susceptible viruses conferring them with resistance even before the onset of infection. Selection and breeding events have allowed for establishing this highly important agronomic trait in diverse crops. With improved techniques and the availability of new data on genetic diversity among several viruses, significant progress is being made in engineering plants using RNAi with the release of a number of commercially available crops. Biosafety concerns with respect to consumption of RNAi crops, while relevant, have been addressed, given the fact that experimental evidence using miRNAs associated with the crops shows that they do not pose any health risk to humans and animals.

Key words

  • Biosafety
  • Gene silencing
  • Genetic engineering
  • RNA interference
  • Virus resistance

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, LEG, PqEB W5 Norte, 70770-917, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Abdulrazak B. Ibrahim & Francisco J. L. Aragão

  2. Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário, 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Abdulrazak B. Ibrahim & Francisco J. L. Aragão

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

    Abdulrazak B. Ibrahim

Authors
  1. Abdulrazak B. Ibrahim
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  2. Francisco J. L. Aragão
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco J. L. Aragão .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biology Division, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma, USA

    Kirankumar S. Mysore

  2. National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Muthappa Senthil-Kumar

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Ibrahim, A.B., Aragão, F.J.L. (2015). RNAi-Mediated Resistance to Viruses in Genetically Engineered Plants. In: Mysore, K., Senthil-Kumar, M. (eds) Plant Gene Silencing. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1287. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2453-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2453-0_5

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