Main conclusion Silencing of an ascorbate oxidase ( AO ) gene in N. benthamiana enhanced disease severity from cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), showing higher accumulation and expansion of the spreading area of CMV. Abstract A Nicotiana benthamiana ascorbate oxidase ( NbAO ) gene was found to be induced upon cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) infection. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) was employed to elucidate the function of AO in N...

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is found worldwide wherever citrus is cultivated, causing Citrus tristeza disease resulting in significant yield losses and sometimes the death of the plant. Transgenic citrus plants encoding CTV gene sequences have shown to exhibit pathogen-derived resistance to CTV. Exogenous application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an established strategy for plant virus control, making this method an attrac...