Mechanisms, applications, and perspectives of antiviral RNA silencing in plants.

Viral diseases of plants cause important economic losses due to reduction in crop quality and quantity to the point of threatening food security in some countries. Given the reduced availability of natural sources, genetic resistance to viruses has been successfully engineered for some plant-virus combinations. A sound understanding of the basic mechanisms governing plant-virus interactions, including antiviral RNA silencing, is the foundation to design better management strategies and biotechnological approaches to engineer and implement antiviral resistance in plants. In this review, we present current molecular models to explain antiviral RNA silencing and its application in basic plant research, biotechnology and genetic engineering.