title: Virus-induced gene silencing in plant MAPK research.
abstract: Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology has become more and more widely used in various plant species for rapid screening of gene functions. VIGS does not require time-consuming tissue culture steps that are needed for stable transformation in most plant species and it can be used for studying gene function even in plants that are very difficult to stably transform. Furthermore, VIGS technology provides high gene silencing efficiency (up to 95 %) and specificity. Here, we describe a VIGS protocol that can be used for studying the functions of MAPKs and other genes in a wild tobacco species, Nicotiana attenuata. This method is also suitable for other Nicotiana species and tomato with minor modifications.
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Heilongtan, Kunming, 650201, China.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hettenhausen
authors.forename: Ian T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: Jianqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D060054:Agrobacterium / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018274:Electroporation; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D036226:Seedlings / Q000235:genetics; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases