RNA silencing technology: A boon for crop improvement
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Ó Indian Academy of Sciences (0123456789().,-volV) (0123456789().,-volV)
Review RNA silencing technology: A boon for crop improvement MANCHIKATLA V RAJAM Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi 110 021, India (Email, [email protected])
RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool for gene silencing in different organisms, including plants. It is being used in functional genomics to decipher the function of genes. This technology has also witnessed a variety of potential applications in agriculture for crop improvement, including the development of crops for resistance against biotic (weeds, pathogens, insect pests and nematode parasites) and abiotic stresses (drought, high and low temperature, etc.), nutritional quality improvement, healthier oils, delayed ripening, male sterility, modification of flowering time and flower colour, alteration of plant architecture, enhancement of secondary products, and removal of allergens and toxins. RNAi has several advantages over traditional transgenic approaches as genetically modified RNAi plants do not contain transgene protein, however the risk assessment of these plants should be examined to rule out any off-target effects. Keywords.
Crop improvement; gene silencing; nutritional quality; RNA interference; stress tolerance
1. Introduction The current world population size is 7.7 billion and it is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. India expected to be the largest country as far as population is concerned, surpassing China by next 4 years or so (UN DESA Report 2015). Therefore, feeding the growing mass is a big task as there is already a huge gap between food production and population size. In fact, it has been projected that there will be about 40% increase in global demand for cereals, roots and tubers by around 2020, and approximately 70% increase in food production would be needed by 2050 to feed the world population of 9.7 billion (FAO 2009). As we have to double the food production sustainably on the same cultivated land by 2050, we definitely have to witness a second Green Revolution. In order to meet the projected demand for food production, we have to adopt various technology options, particularly plant
This article is part of the Topical Collection: Genetic Intervention in Plants: Mechanisms and Benefits. http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci
breeding and biotechnology, including RNA interference (RNAi)-based strategies for the improvement of crop yield and quality by protecting crop plants against biotic (pathogens and pests) and abiotic (salinity, drought, etc.) stresses. In this short review article, an overview of the potential of RNA silencing for crop improvement is given.
2. RNAi and gene silencing RNAi was discovered as a potential tool for gene silencing by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in Caenorhabtitis elegans in 1998 (Fire et al. 1998) and they have received Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006 for this important break-through discovery. RNAi is highly sequence-specific gene silencing mediated by double-
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