A roadmap for using viruses to enhance crop performance

Humans, livestock and companion animals benefit from virus-based vaccines and gene therapies, but crops do not. This paradox is highlighted by an international research group led by the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP) within the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

The study proposes a roadmap to use attenuated viruses to enhance the performance of crops, making them more resistant to extreme and changing climate conditions, or to produce dietary supplements for improved human nutrition. According to the authors, this is a more efficient and sustainable alternative to agrochemicals and faster than traditional breeding methods.

"Our article presents thought-provoking viewpoints and confronts readers with paradoxical situations," says Fabio Pasin, a CSIC researcher at the IBMCP and lead author of the study. The authors propose that viral vectors, based on attenuated viruses that do not harm plants, could be used to introduce specific genes into crops, thus improving their agronomic traits.

These viral vectors could be used to induce plant flowering and accelerate harvests; develop improved crop varieties; modify plant architecture to facilitate mechanization; improve drought tolerance; or produce metabolites beneficial to human health, among other applications.

Using attenuated viruses might be the best way to achieve desired plant traits.

Image source: Pasin et al. (2024), Nature Reviews Bioengineering.