Assessment of resistance to rice tungro disease in popular rice varieties in India by introgression of a transgene against Rice tungro bacilliform virus.

Rice crops in South and Southeast Asian countries suffer critical yield losses due to rice tungro disease caused by joint infection with rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) and rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). Previously, for generating RNA interference-based transgenic resistance against tungro viruses, RTBV ORF IV was used as a transgene to develop RTBV resistance in a popular high-yielding scented rice variety. The transgene from this line was then introgressed into five popular high-yielding but tungro-susceptible rice varieties by marker-assisted backcross breeding with a view to combine the resistant trait with the agronomic traits.

Rolling circle amplification-based analysis of Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus isolates from Tamil Nadu, India, suggests a low level of genetic variability.

Cassava mosaic disease is a widespread disease of cassava in south Asia and the African continent. In India, CMD is known to be caused by two single-stranded DNA viruses (geminiviruses), Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV) and Sri Lankan cassava mosdaic virus (SLCMV). Previously, the diversity of ICMV and SLCMV in India has been studied using PCR, a sequence-dependent method.

Evaluation of virus resistance and agronomic performance of rice cultivar ASD 16 after transfer of transgene against Rice tungro bacilliform virus by backcross breeding.

Severe losses of rice yield in south and southeast Asia are caused by Rice tungro disease (RTD) induced by mixed infection of Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) and Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). In order to develop transgene-based resistance against RTBV, one of its genes, ORF IV, was used to generate transgenic resistance based on RNA-interference in the easily transformed rice variety Pusa Basmati-1, and the transgene was subsequently introgressed to rice variety ASD 16, a variety popular in southern India, using transgene marker-assisted selection. Here, we report the evaluation of BC3F4 and BC3F5 generation rice plants for resistance to RTBV as well as for agronomic traits under glasshouse conditions.

Resistance to Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) in genetically engineered cassava cv. KU50 through RNA silencing.

Cassava ranks fifth among the starch producing crops of the world, its annual bioethanol yield is higher than for any other crop. Cassava cultivar KU50, the most widely grown cultivar for non-food purposes is susceptible to Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV). The objective of this work was to engineer resistance to SLCMV by RNA interference (RNAi) in order to increase biomass yield, an important aspect for bioethanol production.

Phylogenetic analysis and biolistic infectivity of a cloned Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus DNA-A from Tamil Nadu, India on Nicotiana benthamiana.

The complete nucleotide sequence of Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) DNA-A isolated from cassava in southern India was analyzed, a phylogenetic analysis with other begomoviral nucleotide sequences was performed and an efficient inoculation method of Nicotiana benthamiana with the cloned DNA was developed utilizing a biolistic device. The nucleotide sequence showed the conservation of all functional begomoviral protein domains and aligned most closely with begomoviruses reported from the Indian subcontinent, except for begomoviruses of cucurbits and legumes. Upon biolistic inoculation of N.