PROTEOMICS
Proteomic Tools: To Study Insect Vector-Plant Virus Interactions
Proteomic tools have identified a plethora of important viral proteins inside their plant hosts and insect vectors.
Plant viruses are responsible for major yield and production losses in agronomically important crops. Being biotroph parasites viruses completely rely on their host plants for the completion of their life cycle. Therefore, viruses hijack their host’s cellular machinery particularly proteins for their own replication and intercellular movement.
Plant viruses need insect vectors for their transmission. Insect vectors transmit viruses while feeding on plants through their mouthparts. In short, insects play a crucial role in the viral life cycle. When insects feed on diseased plants they acquire the virus (acquisition period), retain it in its tissues (retention period), and transmit it on disease-free plants (transmission period) during feeding.
However, proteomic tools have made it easier to study insect vector plant-virus interactions.
Proteins are key players in the physiological mechanisms of a cell or an organism and proteomics is the study of overall proteins of the cell while proteome analysis is the application of various…
