BIOCHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION OF BARLEY YELLOW DWARF VIRUS SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) is one of the most important plant viral diseases in terms of economic impact and worldwide distribution. In response to viral infection, biotechnology and breeding are now the most sustainable solutions. By relying on the RNA interference machinery or more recently CRISPR to target a DNA virus for silencing, it is possible to generate plants that are fully resistant. However, sources of natural resistance against BYDV are rare. Susceptibility (S) factors are a group of genes encoded by host genes that are co-opted by pathogens for virulence. Loss-of-function of S genes results in reduced susceptibility because the pathogen cannot hijack this factor anymore. Therefore, it is thought that S gene-mediated resistance is more durable and more difficult to overcome. Our goal is by screening RNA-protein complexes to find plant proteins that interact with viral RNA, and to verify their functions in crop plants.