Mechanisms of parasitic RNA propagation and elimination in male germline studied on economically important viroid species

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gerhard Steger
• Subject Area: Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology ; Virology ; Plant Cell and Developmental Biology
• Term: from 2018 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 391033695

The haploid male germline of higher plants plays a vital role in plant fertility and crop production through the generation and transport of male gametes, double fertilization, seed production and finally through effective mechanisms of the elimination of parasitic nucleic acids from pollen. Some viroids---parasitic single-stranded circular RNAs adapted to escape such silencing mechanism---can be either pollen-transmissible (spread via pollen) or eliminated from developing pollen, depending on plant-pathogen combinations. There is currently no information about molecular interaction of viroids within pollen but it can be assumed that viroid RNA interacts specifically with the metabolism of developing male gametophyte involving small RNAs. Here we will use a hop isolate of apple fruit crinkle viroid infection of Nicotiana tabacum as a pollen research model to analyze transcriptomic, degradomic and proteomic data for the identification of mechanism(s) suppressing viroid-propagation and leading to viroid elimination at defined check points during male germline development. The main objective is to characterize the interaction of parasitic viroid RNA with tobacco gene expression during pollen development and to identify the natural mechanism(s) associated with viroid suppression and elimination from the male germline.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Partner Organisation: Czech Science Foundation
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. David Honys; Dr. Jaroslav Matousek