Project description
Preventing plant diseases by vector modification strategies
The rising global population puts constant pressure on food production and intensive agricultural practices. Alongside the injudicious use of insecticides, this has modified agrarian ecosystems, causing more plant vector-borne viral diseases than ever before. The EU-funded GuardSym project will focus on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci as a vector to investigate its multitrophic interactions with its bacterial symbionts, vectored virus, and host plants. Scientists will employ a multidisciplinary approach that combines insect and plant physiology, virology, and high-throughput sequencing to identify symbionts that confer virus-resistance to their whitefly host. The project will form the basis for the development of population modification strategies where natural populations are replaced with virus-resistant ones that can no longer cause plant disease.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinator
75794 Paris
France
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