Genetically engineered resistance to Plum pox virus infection in herbaceous and stone fruit hosts

摘要

Plum pox virus (PPV), a Poty virus, is the causal agent of sharka, the most detrimental viral disease affecting stone fruit trees. This review focuses on research carried out to obtain PPV-resistant transgenic plants and on how biotechnological strategies evolved in light of the scientific advances made during the last several years. Successful RNA silencing strategies that confer a high level of resistance to strains of PPV have been developed and tested under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Moreover, field tests showed that transgene-mediated RNA silencing was effective in protecting plum plants against aphid-mediated PPV infection. The new emerging biotechnological approaches for conferring PPV resistance are discussed.