Warwick: New breed of brassicas resists virus

Research lead

Warwick University scientists funded by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have identified a new way to breed brassicas, including broccoli, cabbage and oilseed rape, which are resistant to a damaging virus.

The discovery involves a form of resistance to turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) that appears to be durable, broad-spectrum and unlikely to be overcome by the virus over time. TuMV is an economically devastating virus that infects a wide range of cultivated plants, but especially brassicas.

The researchers have identified genes that confer resistance to the virus and, crucially, as multiple genes are involved, provide resistance that the virus appears not to have been able to evolve to overcome. The work could have important broader implications for plant breeders and farmers as TuMV is a member of the Potyvirus family, the biggest family of viruses that attacks plants, and an important model for understanding other viruses.

The genes identified in the project determine plant responses to virus attack. One response is for the plant to kill off individual cells if they become infected, thereby restricting the viral infection to a very localised area of the plant. Another response is to restrict virus movement within the plant and stop its spread from leaf to leaf.

John Walsh, the research group leader, said, “By breeding these genes into commercial varieties of the crop, using conventional techniques, breeders can protect them from attack. But most importantly, we have identified broad-spectrum resistance provided by a number of genes. This means we potentially have the means to develop brassicas, such as broccoli, that will be robust enough to prevent the virus mutating to overcome the resistance.”

Walsh’s has been awarded further funding by BBSRC under its Crop Science Initiative to take this research further.