Utilizing Virus-Induced Gene Silencing for the Functional Characterization of Maize Genes During Infection with the Fungal Pathogen Ustilago maydis
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While in dicotyledonous plants virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is well established to study plant–pathogen interaction, in monocots only few examples of efficient VIGS have been reported so far. One of the available systems is based on the brome mosaic virus (BMV) which allows gene silencing in different cereals including barley (Hordeum vulgare ), wheat (Triticum aestivum ), and maize (Zea mays ).
Infection of maize plants by the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis leads to the formation of large tumors on stem, leaves, and inflorescences. During this biotrophic interaction, plant defense responses are actively suppressed by the pathogen, and previous transcriptome analyses of infected maize plants showed comprehensive and stage-specific changes in host gene expression during disease progression.
To identify maize genes that are functionally involved in the interaction with U . maydis , we adapted a VIGS system based on the Brome mosaic virus (BMV) to maize at conditions that allow successful U . maydis infection of BMV pre-infected maize plants. This setup enables quantification of VIGS and its impact on U . maydis infection using a quantitative real-time PCR (q(RT)-PCR)-based readout.
