INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RICE TUNGRO VIRUSES AND RICE:USING RNA-INTERFERENCE TO ACHIEVE VIRAL RESISTANCE

摘要

Rice is the foremost food crop in the world and is the primary source of dietary calories for more than half of the world population. It is thus very important that its productivity is increased in the light of increase in population pressures, especially in the areas of the world where rice is the primary food. Of the several factors limiting rice production, those caused by biotic stress probably play the maximum role and hence deserve serious study. Several biotic factors operate against rice in limiting its production, which include mainly bacteria, fungi and viruses. Of the three, viruses are the only pathogenic agents which operate within the plant cell, the rest operating largely in the space outside the cell, at least for a large part of their life cycle. Viruses, especially plant viruses