CRISPR-Adventskalender

The potato Y virus is transmitted by aphids and is the virus with the most harmful economic effect on potatoes. The yield loss is mainly caused by a smaller tuber size, but tuber quality also suffers due to a reduced starch content. In two studies, Russian and German scientists have switched off certain genes known to affect the interaction between host plants and viruses. The resulting plants showed fewer disease symptoms compared to the control group. One gene that was switched off also influenced the plant response to salt stress. Therefore, the edited plants also showed improved tolerance to elevated salt concentrations.