Unraveling Plant Defense Mechanisms against Geminivirus
Eduardo Bejarano, IHSM-LaMayora, Univ. Málaga
February 07, 2025 | 15h30 | CIBIO’s Auditorium and Online (https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/99797933081)
Geminiviruses pose a major threat to global agriculture, severely compromising crop productivity and food security. Among these pathogens, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) stands out as one of the most devastating, causing extensive yield losses in tomato crops worldwide. To mitigate its impact, developing effective resistance strategies is critical, and advancing our understanding of plant defense mechanisms is key to engineering durable, virus-resistant cultivars.This presentation explores the molecular basis of TYLCV resistance, focusing on three pivotal resistance genes—Ty-1, Ty-2, and Ty-5—that confer protection through distinct mechanisms:
• Ty-1 enhances plant immunity by amplifying RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), a process that silences viral DNA by targeting its replication.
• Ty-2, a dominant resistance gene, encodes a receptor-like kinase (RLK) that detects viral invasion early, activating a cascade of robust defense responses.
• Ty-5, a recessive gene, disrupts viral proliferation by hijacking RNA decay pathways to degrade viral transcripts, effectively halting infection.
By unraveling these independent resistance pathways, this work illuminates the intricate molecular interplay between TYLCV and its host.
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