Plant Biotechnology Unit
at the IAM, BOKU
Research projects
Risk assessment with genetically engineered woody plants expressing virus coat protein gene
Risk assessment with genetically engineered woody plants expressing virus coat protein gene
Duration: 1996-1999
Supported by: European Community BIOTECH (FP4) BIO4CT96-0773
Transgenic Prunus armeniaca and P. domestica expressing the CP gene of plum
pox potyvirus and grapevines transformed with the CP gene of grapevine fanleaf
and arabis mosaic nepoviruses have been already obtained. Grapevines expressing
the CP gene of grapevine trichoviruses A and B will be produced under this
project. In addition herbaceous Nicotiana plant models have also been transformed
with the same constructs. In this project we want to compare the transencapsidation
phenomenon of transgenic Prunus expressing the native form of PPV CP and those
transformed with a CP gene deleted of the DAG amino acid triplet involved in the
virus vector recognition. Nepovirus transencapsidation will be studied by
inoculating infectious transcripts derived from GFLV RNA1 and ArMV RNA2 into
Nicotiana benthamiana. Transgenic grapevines and/or N. benthamiana expressing GFLV CP
(resp. GVA CP) will be inoculated with ArMV (resp. GVB) and conversely.
RNA recombination will be evaluated by inoculating PPV variants in transgenic
Prunus expressing PPV CP mutant lacking the DAG triplet. Similarly these experiments
will be conducted for GFLV with available mutants which will be inoculated to
N. benthamiana. The one is a tripartite mutant which has an RNA2 split into 2 RNA
species, one of them bearing the CP gene, the second are CP defective mutants which
infect protoplasts but do not spread to whole plants. For GVA and GVB, infectious
transcripts will be prepared and used as sources of chimeric viruses by exchanging
the CP of GVA and GVB. Glasshouse and small scale field tests will be set up with
these transgenic Prunus and grapevines expressing CP gene.
EU-partners in the project:
- - Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne CIVC, Epernay, FR
- - Dipartimento Die Protezione Delle Piante Dalla Malattie DPPM, Bari, IT
- - Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes IBMP, Strasbourg, FR
- - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique INRA, FR
- - Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias IVIA, Valenica, ES
- - Laboratoire de Biochimie Végétale LBV, Neuchâtel, CH
- - Société Champagne Moet & Chandon M&C, Epernay, FR
- - Dipartimento Die Protezione Delle Piante Dalla Malattie DPPM, Bari, IT
Rev.1.0 by Siegfried Huss