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Genetically Engineered Resistance and Development of Transgeneic Plants Against Viral Diseases


Dr. N. Chiranjeevi, Dr. R. Sarada Jayalakshmi Devi, K. Sailaja, D. Vijay Kumar Naik
Pages: 39-60
ISBN: 978-93-5834-125-6


Research Trends and Innovations in Plant Pathology (Volume -2)

Research Trends and Innovations in Plant Pathology
(Volume - 2)

Abstract

In India, the post-green revolution era saw an upsurge in agricultural operations all over the country. Practices like introduction of new genotypes, indiscriminate use of insecticides, change in cultivation practices, etc. tilted the balance in favour of vector-transmitted diseases in several crops. For example, cultivation of soybean as an industrial crop in large areas, continued cropping of moong in summer months, without leaving any time lapse, introduction of susceptible germplasm of Nigerian cowpea, etc. led to the perpetuation of the vector whiteflies and to the availability of the viral inoculum throughout the year. The above reasons have been speculated to give rise to epidemics of yellow mosaic diseases of legumes. A major push needs to be given for transformation of pulses and legumes, which incur some of the heaviest losses due to viruses. The dominant and virulent strains of each important virus in the country need to be identified for obtaining genes for resistance engineering. Studies should also focus on the degree of variability and the recombination of viral genomes. This will help in the design of suitable constructs that will ensure durable resistance across the country. Emerging techniques of functional genomics need to be harnessed to understand the molecular interactions between the viral pathogen and the resistant and susceptible plants leading to resistance or pathogenesis. This is bound to result in novel insights at disease control. Insect-proof glasshouses and insectaries require to be modernized with facilities to provide ambient conditions for plant growth in our country. This needs to be looked into by funding agencies. It is also clear that the effort for producing viral-resistant transgenic crop plants needs to be multidisciplinary, with a close cooperation among virologists, molecular biologists, tissue-culture specialists, agronomists and the government. Their combined effort is sure to deliver to the Indian farmers, a range of virus-resistant crops in the near future, which will help mitigate the losses in crop yields due to viruses in India.

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© Integrated Publications.
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