Abstract
Plant virus vectors have been developed as a result of 20 years of advances in molecular biology, which produced infectious plasmid-based clones of RNA and DNA plant viruses and viroids that could be routinely amplified in E. coli. This work built on a century of progress in virology, much of which was based on understanding the biology of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) (1). With the availability of the rice and Arabidopis draft genome sequences, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and microarrays, crystal structures of many plant viruses, and public interest in non-transgenic strategies for crop improvement, the technology of plant virus gene vectors holds much promise for the coming decade (2, 3, 4). The intent of this review is to define virus-vector strategies, describe uses for improving crop health, and point out possible beneficial overlaps with veterinary and human medicine.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
