An effective antiviral strategy based on silence of susceptibility genes through cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) attenuated vaccine vector.

Plant viruses represent a major threat to agriculture, affecting a wide range of crops with substantial economic losses. This study presented a novel strategy for managing plant viral diseases through the development an attenuated vaccine utilizing cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) targeting susceptibility gene. TOBAMOVIRUS MULTIPLICATION 2A (TOM2A) gene was identified as a critical factor that enhances susceptibility to TMV infection in plants. Two vaccines were constructed based on CMV attenuated vaccine vector-CR2V. The first vaccine was constructed by incorporating NtTOM2A fragments into CR2V, while the second vaccine was developed by inserting both NtTOM2A fragments and TMV-p183 fragments into CR2V. Each vaccine constructs significantly reduced TMV accumulation, exhibited no adverse effects on plant growth, and maintained stability of the inserted sequences up to 21 days post-vaccination (dpv) in vivo. The study underscored the potential of utilizing engineered plant viruses as environmentally sustainable vaccines for mitigating viral diseases in agriculture.