What do you understand by RNA-silencing? How can this strategy be used to make plants that are resistant to pests?
RNA silencing is a method by which complementary ds RNA molecules bind to the specific mRNA and interfere with their translation, silencing, or inactivating those specific mRNAs. The infection of the roots of tobacco plants bearing the nematode Meloidogyne incognita can be prevented using this strategy. This strategy results in the formation of a dsRNA complementary to a specific mRNA. Viruses can be used as the source of this complementary RNA. These RNAs can be introduced by infection by a virus with the RNA genome. A nematode-specific gene was introduced into a host plant using an Agrobacterium vector. DNA introduction led to the production of both sense and anti-dense RNA in the host cells. The two RNAs were complementary to each other and formed double-stranded RNA to initiate RNAi & to silence a particular nematode mRNA. The result was that the organism was unable to survive in the transformed host.
