Abstract
Grafting experiments have revealed that transgenic plants that undergo co-suppression of homologous transgenes and endogenous genes or PTGS of exogenous transgenes produce a sequence-specific systemic silencing signal that is able to propagate from cell to cell and at long distance. Similarly, infection of transgenic plants by viruses that carry (part of) a transgene sequence results in global silencing (VIGS) of the integrated transgenes although viral infection is localized. Systemic PTGS and VIGS strongly resemble recovery from virus infection in non-transgenic plants, leading to protection against secondary infection in newly emerging leaves and PTGS of transiently expressed homologous transgenes. The sequence-specific PTGS signal is probably a transgene product (for example, aberrant RNA) or a secondary product (for example, RNA molecules produced by an RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase with transgene RNA as a matrix) that mimics the type of viral RNA that is targeted for degradation by cellular defence. Whether some particular cases of transgene TGS could also rely on the production of such a mobile molecule is discussed.
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Fagard, M., Vaucheret, H. (2000). Systemic silencing signal(s). In: Matzke, M.A., Matzke, A.J.M. (eds) Plant Gene Silencing. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4183-3_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4183-3_12
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