Evaluation of spray-induced gene silencing as a method to reduce the spread of Blueberry Shock virus in Canadian blueberry farms

喷雾诱导基因沉默作为减少蓝莓休克病毒在加拿大蓝莓农场传播的方法的评估

基本信息

批准号：
539435-2019
负责人：
Mattsson, Jim
金额：
$ 1.82万
依托单位：
Simon Fraser University
依托单位国家：
加拿大
项目类别：
Engage Grants Program
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
加拿大
起止时间：
2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=680156
关键词：
Evaluation spray induced gene silencing

项目摘要

The blueberry growers of Canada, focused in British Columbia, have experienced increasing and substantial losses from the arrival and spread of the Blueberry Shock Virus. The response to infection is shock-like, as leaves and flowers appear blighted in the spring, resulting in no harvestable fruit in that season. Plants recover in 1-3 years, but there is a substantial cost to the grower due to the loss of yield during this recovery period. After recovery, plants still have the virus, which is spread via pollen by honey bees and other pollinators throughout and between plantings. As pollination from bees is necessary for berry production, treatments can not affect bees. On the other hand, an effective treatment would only need to be applied at the time of flowering to limit the spread of the virus through pollen. Here we propose to test the use of a novel methodology known as Spray-Induced Gene Silencing. It is based on spraying the plant with double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) matching and binding to the genome of the virus, triggering its destruction. We will carry out controlled greenhouse experiments to assess (1) if the number of viruses in infected plants can be reduced by RNA application, and (2) if Infection via pollen can be prevented by applying RNA to flowering plants. RNA is a natural biological substance present in all living cells and organisms and is inherently unstable and non-toxic. Since the used RNA is targeted for this virus, this method has the potential of providing not only the first treatment against the spread of Blueberry Shock Virus but also provide an example for the development of future biological control of pests in Canadian agriculture.

关注不列颠哥伦比亚省的加拿大蓝莓种植者因蓝莓冲击病毒的到来和传播而遭受了越来越多的损失。对感染的反应类似于冲击，因为春季叶子和花朵在春季显得枯萎，因此在那个季节没有可收获的水果。植物在1 - 3年内恢复，但由于此恢复期间的产量损失，种植者的成本很大。恢复后，植物仍然患有该病毒，该病毒是通过蜜蜂和种植之间的其他传粉媒介通过花粉传播的。由于蜜蜂的授粉对于浆果的生产是必需的，因此治疗不会影响蜜蜂。另一方面，开花时只需要采用有效的治疗方法即可限制病毒通过花粉的扩散。在这里，我们建议测试一种称为喷雾诱导基因沉默的新方法。它基于用双链核糖核酸（DSRNA）匹配并与病毒的基因组结合，从而触发其破坏。我们将进行受控的温室实验，以评估（1）是否可以通过施用RNA减少感染植物中的病毒数量，并且（2）如果可以通过将RNA涂在开花植物中，可以防止通过花粉感染。 RNA是所有活细胞和生物中存在的天然生物学物质，并且本质上是不稳定和无毒的。由于所使用的RNA是针对该病毒的，因此该方法不仅可以提供针对蓝莓休克病毒传播的第一种治疗方法，而且还为加拿大农业中有害生物的未来生物控制提供了一个例子。