BLOCKING THE SYSTEMIC SPREAD OF POTATO VIRUS Y IN THE TISSUES OF POTATOES BY POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL GENE SILENCING

I. Denev, M. Stoyanova, N. Petrov, N. Tomlekova, R. Andonova, A. Teneva

Abstract: Plant virus diseases are the second biggest group after the fungal diseases in agricultural production. Enormous economic loss in agriculture is caused by the virus diseases. The traditional prevention and control of the virus diseases are mainly agricultural control measures. Potato virus Y (PVY) is the type species of genus Potyvirus from family Potyviridae. It is transmitted by aphids in non-persistent manner. Using insecticides is useless against spreading the infection because the virus is transmitted in non-persistent manner. Using resistant plant cultivars is not effective because of the fast evolution of the virus mainly through mutations and recombination between its strains. In the current paper we propose a new way of controlling the virus by blocking the replication and the transmission through the plant by RNA based vaccination of plants with specific to viral HC-Pro gene dsRNAs and siRNAs. This technology will give a chance against PVY invasion without changing the valuable qualities of the sensitive to the virus cultivars of potatoes.

Keywords: potatoes; PVYn; RNAi

Date published: 2017-09-11