Engineering Resistance to Plant Viruses: Present Status and Future Prospects

Plant viruses cause severe crop losses across the globe. Resistant cultivars together with pesticide application are commonly used to avoid the losses caused by plant viruses. However, limited success has been achieved at diminishing the impact of plant viruses. Use of virus-resistant plants is the most effective and economical way to mitigate losses caused by plant viruses. One limitation of resistant cultivars is the inescapable breakdown of resistance owing to the evolution of a new viral strain or species. On the other hand, the use of pesticides to control insect vectors is costly and causes harmful environmental consequences. Thus, exploiting strategies that provide durable and broad-spectrum resistance is important. This chapter examines current strategies and future hopes of developing virus-resistant transgenic plants.