Plant viruses carry a built-in defense against gene-editing tools
Sharma VK, Marla S, Cook DE
Crispr
If you've ever watched a tomato or pepper plant in your garden wilt from a virus with no good treatment available, this research explains why engineering virus resistance into plants is trickier than it sounds, since viruses may already carry the tools to disarm it.
Researchers are trying to use a precision gene-editing system called Cas13 to target and destroy virus RNA inside plant cells, like a molecular scissor that cuts up invading virus instructions. But they discovered that two proteins certain plant viruses already produce, HcPro and P19, can jam those scissors and stop them from working. That's a problem because it suggests viruses already have a natural way to dodge this new defense before scientists even finish building it.
Key Findings
Viral suppressor proteins HcPro and P19 blocked Cas13-mediated transcript silencing, not just the off-target RNAi-like effects researchers were trying to eliminate
A mutant version of HcPro that lost its normal RNA-silencing-suppression ability also failed to block Cas13 activity, confirming the suppression mechanism is responsible for the interference
The findings indicate plant viruses may already possess evolved defenses (RNAi suppressors) capable of neutralizing engineered CRISPR-Cas13 antiviral strategies before they're deployed
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists trying to use gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas13 to fight plant viruses found that two proteins made by the viruses themselves, HcPro and P19, can block the tool from working. This means the viruses may already have a built-in defense against this promising new antiviral technology before it's even widely deployed.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Plant viral suppressors HcPro and P19 inhibit CRISPR-Cas13-mediated transcript interference.
RNA plays a central role in cellular dynamics, mediating the formation of proteins from genetic information. Thus, there is great interest in technologies that can alter RNA content of a cell to ac...
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