Centre : Indian Agricultural Research Institute,New DelhI
Name of the technology :
RNAi induced silencing of pathogenicity genes of Fusarium spp. for vascular wilt management in tomato
Fusarium spp were impaired for key hypothetical pathogenicity genes, FOW2 and chsV, reported as Zn(II)2Cys6-type transcription regulator and class V chitin synthase, respectively.Silencing of either of the genes resulted in understanding the role of the genes in Fusarium pathogenicity. The fungal mutants exhibited less virulent phenotypes with altered physiological characteristics like sporulation and growth on solid media and a reduction in mRNA expression.
The results demonstrate the applicability of these pathogenicity genes as useful molecular targets for exploitation in Fusarium vascular wilt control in tomato.
The utility of the conventional approach of generating gene-knockout strains is limited for exploitation in fungal disease control.
Status of Commercialization : Not applicable