Silencing ZmPP2C-A10 with a foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV) derived vector benefits maize growth and development following water limitation.

Global climate change is causing more frequent and severe droughts, which can have negative impacts on plant growth and crop productivity. Under drought conditions, plants produce the hormone ABA (abscisic acid), which regulates adaptive responses, such as stomatal closure and root elongation. Plant viruses have been used in the lab to convey new traits to plants and could also be used to increase production of ABA or to enhance downstream plant drought resistance responses.

Engineering aphid transmission of foxtail mosaic virus in the presence of potyvirus helper component proteinase through coat protein modifications.

Biotechnologies that use plant viruses as plant enhancement tools have shown great potential to flexibly engineer crop traits, but field applications of these technologies are still limited by efficient dissemination methods. Potyviruses can be rapidly inoculated into plants by aphid vectors due to the presence of the potyviral helper component proteinase (HC-Pro), which binds to the DAG motif of the coat protein (CP) of the virion. Previously it was determined that a naturally occurring DAG motif in the non-aphid-transmissible potexvirus, potato aucuba mosaic virus (PAMV), is functional when a potyviral HC-Pro is provided to aphids in plants.

The Potyviral Protein 6K2 from Turnip Mosaic Virus Increases Plant Resilience to Drought.

Virus infection can increase drought tolerance of infected plants compared with noninfected plants; however, the mechanisms mediating virus-induced drought tolerance remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) infection increases survival under drought compared with uninfected plants. To determine if specific TuMV proteins mediate drought tolerance, we cloned the coding sequence for each of the major viral proteins and generated transgenic that constitutively express each protein.

Adverse effects of inbreeding on the transgenerational expression of herbivore-induced defense traits in Solanum carolinense.

In addition to directly inducing physical and chemical defenses, herbivory experienced by plants in one generation can influence the expression of defensive traits in offspring. Plant defense phenotypes can be compromised by inbreeding, and there is some evidence that such adverse effects can extend to the transgenerational expression of induced resistance. We explored how the inbreeding status of maternal Solanum carolinense plants influenced the transgenerational effects of herbivory on the defensive traits and herbivore resistance of offspring.

Inbreeding in Solanum carolinense alters floral attractants and rewards and adversely affects pollinator visitation.

Premise: Inbreeding depression is well documented in flowering plants and adversely affects a wide range of fitness-related traits. Recent work has begun to explore the effects of inbreeding on ecological interactions among plants and other organisms, including insect herbivores and pathogens. However, the effects of inbreeding on floral traits, floral scents, and pollinator visitation are less well studied.