@article{mbs:/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.82338-0, author = "Shepherd, Dionne N. and Mangwende, Tichaona and Martin, Darren P. and Bezuidenhout, Marion and Thomson, Jennifer A. and Rybicki, Edward P.", title = "Inhibition of maize streak virus (MSV) replication by transient and transgenic expression of MSV replication-associated protein mutants", journal= "Journal of General Virology", year = "2007", volume = "88", number = "1", pages = "325-336", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.82338-0", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.82338-0", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2099", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "Maize streak disease is a severe agricultural problem in Africa and the development of maize genotypes resistant to the causal agent, Maize streak virus (MSV), is a priority. A transgenic approach to engineering MSV-resistant maize was developed and tested in this study. A pathogen-derived resistance strategy was adopted by using targeted deletions and nucleotide-substitution mutants of the multifunctional MSV replication-associated protein gene (rep). Various rep gene constructs were tested for their efficacy in limiting replication of wild-type MSV by co-bombardment of maize suspension cells together with an infectious genomic clone of MSV and assaying replicative forms of DNA by quantitative PCR. Digitaria sanguinalis, an MSV-sensitive grass species used as a model monocot, was then transformed with constructs that had inhibited virus replication in the transient-expression system. Challenge experiments using leafhopper-transmitted MSV indicated significant MSV resistance – from highly resistant to immune – in regenerated transgenic D. sanguinalis lines. Whereas regenerated lines containing a mutated full-length rep gene displayed developmental and growth defects, those containing a truncated rep gene both were fertile and displayed no growth defects, making the truncated gene a suitable candidate for the development of transgenic MSV-resistant maize.", }