By Torie Noellsch
New technology from Texas A&M AgriLife Research could be a major step to bring disease-resistant peppers and tomatoes to grower fields, and lower costs to grocery stores.
A research team led by Jeanmarie Verchot, PhD., professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, developed the nation’s first infectious clone of the tomato spotted wilt virus, TSWV, paving the way for plant scientists to more efficiently research disease-resistant genetics in tomatoes, peppers and other susceptible crops.
In the scientific paper, “A Novel Approach to Engineering Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Infectious Clones by Disarming Key Nodes in Anti-Viral Defenses,” recently published in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions by the American Phytopathological Society, the researchers revealed the discovery that U.S. scientists have sought for decades.
With this development, Verchot and her team can now produce an unlimited amount of virus, more efficiently inoculate trial plants, and help pepper breeders move much faster in identifying superior, virus-resistant genetics.
Source : tamu.edu