Exploiting the combination of natural and genetically engineered resistance to cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak viruses impacting cassava production in Africa

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45277. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045277. Epub 2012 Sep 25.

Abstract

Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and cassava mosaic disease (CMD) are currently two major viral diseases that severely reduce cassava production in large areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Natural resistance has so far only been reported for CMD in cassava. CBSD is caused by two virus species, Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV). A sequence of the CBSV coat protein (CP) highly conserved between the two virus species was used to demonstrate that a CBSV-CP hairpin construct sufficed to generate immunity against both viral species in the cassava model cultivar (cv. 60444). Most of the transgenic lines showed high levels of resistance under increasing viral loads using a stringent top-grafting method of inoculation. No viral replication was observed in the resistant transgenic lines and they remained free of typical CBSD root symptoms 7 month post-infection. To generate transgenic cassava lines combining resistance to both CBSD and CMD the hairpin construct was transferred to a CMD-resistant farmer-preferred Nigerian landrace TME 7 (Oko-Iyawo). An adapted protocol allowed the efficient Agrobacterium-based transformation of TME 7 and the regeneration of transgenic lines with high levels of CBSV-CP hairpin-derived small RNAs. All transgenic TME 7 lines were immune to both CBSV and UCBSV infections. Further evaluation of the transgenic TME 7 lines revealed that CBSD resistance was maintained when plants were co-inoculated with East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), a geminivirus causing CMD. The innovative combination of natural and engineered virus resistance in farmer-preferred landraces will be particularly important to reducing the increasing impact of cassava viral diseases in Africa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Africa South of the Sahara
  • Agrobacterium / genetics
  • Begomovirus / pathogenicity
  • Begomovirus / physiology*
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Inverted Repeat Sequences / genetics
  • Manihot / genetics
  • Manihot / immunology*
  • Manihot / virology
  • Plant Diseases / genetics
  • Plant Diseases / immunology*
  • Plant Diseases / virology
  • Plant Immunity / genetics
  • Plants, Genetically Modified*
  • Potyviridae / pathogenicity
  • Potyviridae / physiology*
  • RNA, Small Interfering / genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • RNA, Viral / genetics*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Transformation, Genetic
  • Viral Proteins / chemistry
  • Viral Proteins / genetics*

Substances

  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • RNA, Viral
  • Viral Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was partially funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BioCassava Plus Program) and ETH Zurich. RBA received a PhD fellowship from the North-South Centre (ETH Zurich) and IMZ received a scholarship from the Swiss Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.