Efficient and high-throughput pseudorecombinant-chimeric Cucumber mosaic virus-based VIGS in maize

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huangai Li ◽  
Danfeng Zhang ◽  
Ke Xie ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Qiansheng Liao ◽  
...  

Abstract Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a versatile and attractive approach for functional gene characterization in plants. Although several VIGS vectors for maize (Zea mays) have been previously developed, their utilities are limited due to low viral infection efficiency, insert instability, short maintenance of silencing, inadequate inoculation method, or abnormal requirement of growth temperature. Here, we established a Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-based VIGS system for efficient maize gene silencing that overcomes many limitations of VIGS currently available for maize. Using two distinct strains, CMV-ZMBJ and CMV-Fny, we generated a pseudorecombinant-chimeric (Pr) CMV. Pr CMV showed high infection efficacy but mild viral symptoms in maize. We then constructed Pr CMV-based vectors for VIGS, dubbed Pr CMV VIGS. Pr CMV VIGS is simply performed by mechanical inoculation of young maize leaves with saps of Pr CMV-infected Nicotiana benthamiana under normal growth conditions. Indeed, suppression of isopentenyl/dimethylallyl diphosphate synthase (ZmIspH) expression by Pr CMV VIGS resulted in non-inoculated leaf bleaching as early as 5 d post-inoculation (dpi) and exhibited constant and efficient systemic silencing over the whole maize growth period up to 105 dpi. Furthermore, utilizing a ligation-independent cloning (LIC) strategy, we developed a modified Pr CMV-LIC VIGS vector, allowing easy gene cloning for high-throughput silencing in maize. Thus, our Pr CMV VIGS system provides a much-improved toolbox to facilitate efficient and long-duration gene silencing for large-scale functional genomics in maize, and our pseudorecombination-chimera combination strategy provides an approach to construct efficient VIGS systems in plants.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuh Tzean ◽  
Ming-Chi Lee ◽  
Hsiao-Hsuan Jan ◽  
Yi-Shu Chiu ◽  
Tsui-Chin Tu ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. e26468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Yuan ◽  
Cui Li ◽  
Lijie Yan ◽  
Andrew O. Jackson ◽  
Zhiyong Liu ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 373-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keisuke Tasaki ◽  
Hiroyuki Terada ◽  
Chikara Masuta ◽  
Masumi Yamagishi

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 963
Author(s):  
Maria C. Holeva ◽  
Athanasios Sklavounos ◽  
Rajendran Rajeswaran ◽  
Mikhail M. Pooggin ◽  
Andreas E. Voloudakis

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a destructive plant virus with worldwide distribution and the broadest host range of any known plant virus, as well as a model plant virus for understanding plant–virus interactions. Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) as a major antiviral defense, RNAi-based technologies have been developed for plant protection against viral diseases. In plants and animals, a key trigger of RNAi is double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) processed by Dicer and Dicer-like (DCL) family proteins in small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). In the present study, dsRNAs for coat protein (CP) and 2b genes of CMV were produced in vitro and in vivo and applied onto tobacco plants representing a systemic solanaceous host as well as on a local host plant Chenopodium quinoa. Both dsRNA treatments protected plants from local and systemic infection with CMV, but not against infection with unrelated viruses, confirming sequence specificity of antiviral RNAi. Antiviral RNAi was effective when dsRNAs were applied simultaneously with or four days prior to CMV inoculation, but not four days post inoculation. In vivo-produced dsRNAs were more effective than the in vitro-produced; in treatments with in vivo dsRNAs, dsRNA-CP was more effective than dsRNA-2b, while the effects were opposite with in vitro dsRNAs. Illumina sequencing of small RNAs from in vivo dsRNA-CP treated and non-treated tobacco plants revealed that interference with CMV infection in systemic leaves coincides with strongly reduced accumulation of virus-derived 21- and 22-nucleotide (nt) siRNAs, likely generated by tobacco DCL4 and DCL2, respectively. While the 21-nt class of viral siRNAs was predominant in non-treated plants, 21-nt and 22-nt classes accumulated at almost equal (but low) levels in dsRNA treated plants, suggesting that dsRNA treatment may boost DCL2 activity. Taken together, our findings confirm the efficacy of topical application of dsRNA for plant protection against viruses and shed more light on the mechanism of antiviral RNAi.


Plant Methods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Decai Tuo ◽  
Peng Zhou ◽  
Pu Yan ◽  
Hongguang Cui ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cassava is an important crop for food security and industry in the least-developed and developing countries. The completion of the cassava genome sequence and identification of large numbers of candidate genes by next-generation sequencing provide extensive resources for cassava molecular breeding and increase the need for rapid and efficient gene function analysis systems in cassava. Several plant virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) systems have been developed as reverse genetic tools for rapid gene function analysis in cassava. However, these VIGS vectors could cause severe viral symptoms or inefficient gene silencing. Results In this study, we constructed agroinfection-compatible infectious cDNA clones of cassava common mosaic virus isolate CM (CsCMV-CM, genus Potexvirus, family Alphaflexiviridae) that causes systemic infection with mild symptoms in cassava. CsCMV-CM was then modified to a viral vector carrying the Nimble cloning frame, which facilitates the rapid and high-throughput cloning of silencing fragments into the viral genome. The CsCMV-based vector successfully silenced phytoene desaturase (PDS) and magnesium chelatase subunit I (ChlI) in different cassava varieties and Nicotiana benthamiana. The silencing of the ChlI gene could persist for more than two months. Conclusions This CsCMV-based VIGS system provides a new tool for rapid and efficient gene function studies in cassava.


2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changchun Wang ◽  
Xinzhong Cai ◽  
Xuemin Wang ◽  
Zhong Zheng

Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. is a model plant species in which to study plant gene functions. Recently developed virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) offers a rapid and high-throughput technique platform for gene function analysis. In this paper we report optimisation of tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-induced gene silencing in Arabidopsis. The parameters potentially affecting the efficiency of VIGS in Arabidopsis were investigated. These included the concentration and pre-incubation of Agrobacterium inocula (agro-inocula), the concentration of acetosyringone included in agro-inocula, the Agrobacterium inoculation (agro-inoculation) method, the ecotypes and the growth stages of Arabidopsis plants for agro-inoculation, and the growth temperature of agro-inoculated plants. The optimised VIGS procedure involves preparing the agro-inocula with OD600 of 2.0, pre-incubating for 2 h in infiltration buffer containing 200 μm acetosyringone, agro-inoculating by vacuum infiltration, and growth of agro-inoculated plants at 22 −24°C. Following this procedure consistent and highly efficient VIGS was achieved for the genes encoding phytoene desaturase (PDS) and actin in Arabidopsis. The silencing phenotype lasts for at least 6 weeks, and is applicable in at least seven ecotypes, including Col-0, Cvi-0, Sd, Nd-1, Ws-0, Bay-0 and Ler. TRV-induced VIGS was expressed not only in leaves, but also in stems, inflorescences and siliques. However, VIGS was not transmissible through seed to the subsequent generation. The optimised procedure of the TRV-induced gene silencing should facilitate high-throughput functional analysis of genes in Arabidopsis.


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