Crop Protection using Transgenic Plants that Complement Deconstructed Insect Transmitted Viral Vectors
EMSL Project ID
50588
Abstract
Since plants cannot predict the extent or duration of environmental challenges, they can be expected to respond to stressors conservatively, reducing productivity much more than is necessary for survival. Such a behavior presents an opportunity for human technology to play a role in optimizing the plant response in agricultural systems. The over-arching goal of this project, therefore, can be viewed as optimizing plant productivity through human-rationalized intervention that is mediated by delivery of genes to mature plants with a timing and specificity that improves upon general plant stress responses. Our research plan anticipates using drought as a ‘model’ stressor, noting that extensive conservative cross-talk between plant defense and stress response pathways often makes different stressors indistinguishable (in terms of plant response). Alternative proof-of-principle delivery targets are included such as manipulation of stress response through transcription factors and small RNA, and general protective methods against viral infection as mediated through viral replicase aptamers. The latter technology provides a potential means to turn off a ‘viral-mediated’ gene expression that is either no longer needed, or delivered with malicious intent.
Project Details
Start Date
2018-10-03
End Date
2020-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members