New research into how viral proteins interact and can be disabled holds promise to help plants defend themselves against viruses — and ultimately prevent crop losses. The study found that viral proteins interact with each other to help a virus hijack its host plant and complete its life cycle. When some of these viral proteins were disabled, the researchers found that the virus could not move from cell to cell.

The study published in Frontiers in Plant Science found that viral proteins interact with each other to help a virus hijack its host plant and complete its life cycle. When some of these viral proteins were disabled, the researchers found that the virus could not move from cell to cell. These proteins are also doing double duty, inducing disease as well.

«These silencing suppressor proteins are interacting with each other in a seamless, highly coordinated lockstep dance to help the virus in overcome host defense,» said WSU virologist Hanu Pappu, the senior author on the paper.

Insights into the dynamics of these interactions could provide clues for blocking them, Pappu added.

«We are using genome editing approaches to do exactly that,» he said. «The more we understand about how these viruses bring down defensive ‘shields’ and cause disease, the better chance we have of saving plants from viral invaders.»

A silent, behind-the-scenes arms race between plants and the viruses that prey on them has been going on for millions of years. Viral diseases cost more than a billion dollars in losses annually to food, feed, and fiber crops worldwide, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

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