Virus-induced gene silencing for rice using agroinoculation

Advancing virus-induced gene silencing in sunflower: key factors of VIGS spreading and a novel simple protocol

Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) is a versatile tool in plant science, yet its application to non-model species like sunflower demands extensive optimization due to transformation challenges. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the factors that significantly affect the efficiency of Agrobacterium-VIGS in sunflowers. After testing a number of approaches, we concluded that the seed vacuum technique followed by 6 h of co-cultivation produced the most efficient VIGS results. Genotype-dependency analysis revealed varying infection percentages (62-91%) and silencing symptom spreading in different sunflower genotypes. Additionally, we explored the mobility of tobacco rattle virus (TRV) and phenotypic silencing manifestation (photo-bleaching) across different tissues and regions of VIGS-infected sunflower plants. We showed the presence of TRV is not necessarily limited to tissues with observable silencing events. Finally, time-lapse observation demonstrated a more active spreading of the photo-bleached spots in young tissues compared to mature ones. This study not only offers a robust VIGS protocol for sunflowers but also provides valuable insights into genotype-dependent responses and the dynamic nature of silencing events, shedding light on TRV mobility across different plant tissues.

Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Poaceae Using a Foxtail Mosaic Virus Vector

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a powerful tool for rapidly knocking down the expression of plant genes to elucidate functional genomics. We have established a VIGS vector for monocot plants derived from Foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV), a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus. For silencing a targeted gene, plant gene fragment was inserted into the vector between open reading frame 4 (ORF4) and ORF5 under the control of a duplicated coat protein promoter. Plants of different monocot species were infected by mechanical inoculation with sap from FoMV derivative-infected Chenopodium quinoa leaves. Gene silencing was typically observed within 2-3 weeks after inoculation. In this chapter, we describe the detailed protocol for silencing a target gene in various Poaceae plants by using FoMV-based vectors.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional genomics in rice using Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) as a vector

The large-scale functional analysis of genes in plants depends heavily on robust techniques for gene silencing. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a transient gene silencing method for plants, triggered by the inoculation of a modified viral vector carrying a fragment of the gene targeted for silencing. Here we describe a VIGS protocol for rice, based on the Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV, a DNA virus). We present an updated and detailed protocol for silencing of the gene encoding Phytoene desaturase in rice, using the RTBV-VIGS system.