Location: Application Technology Research
Project Number: 5082-21000-001-064-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2022
End Date: Jun 30, 2026
Objective:
This study will develop methods for spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) delivery of small RNAs or dsRNA to reduce the impact of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on some of the dicots.
Approach:
The approaches are: 1) Comparing dsRNA segments generated from different regions of Ago2 and their corresponding RNA secondary structures for SIGS; 2) Determining the effects of perturbing homeostasis of a protein associated with RNA interference by a miRNA with varying base-pairing schemes; 3) Validating predicted cross-species miRNAs generated from a common mycoparasite that can target genes of members of the family Sclerotiniaceae simultaneously. We will compare the effectiveness of SIGS on sunflower, edible snapbean, and dry beans for which transgenic approaches such as host-induced gene silencing are not feasible.
