Virus-Resistant Transgenic Plants: Potential Ecological Impact

Virus-Resistant Transgenic Plants: Potential Ecological Impact
Author: Mark Tepfer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662035065

The introduction of novel genes into plants by genetic transformation holds great promise for plant breeding, and many crop species have been rendered virus-resistant by expression of viral sequences. However, it is essential to also evaluate the potential risks associated with this new technology. Among the types of genetically modified plants that could represent potential ecological risks, ones expressing viral sequences pose questions of particular interest. In this volume special attention is given to recombination in plants expressing sequences of RNA or DNA viruses, heterologous encapsidation or other forms of complementation in plants expressing coat protein genes, potential deleterious effects of satellite RNAs associated with cucumber mosaic virus, and sexual transmission of virus resistance genes to potentially weedy relatives.

The Plant Viruses

The Plant Viruses
Author: R.I.B. Francki
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1985-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN:

It has been known for a long time that the majority of plant viruses contain RNA and in the past decade and a half it has been realized that many have genomes consisting of three molecules of single-stranded RNA with positive polarity. Among these are viruses belonging to four groups recognized by the International Committee for Virus Taxonomy: the Bromovirus and Cucumovirus groups whose genomes are encapsi dated in small icosahedral particles or the Ilarvirus and alfalfa mosaic virus groups with spheroidal or bacilliform particles. In addition to their tripartite genomes, these viruses share a number of other properties and it has been proposed that they should perhaps be grouped in a single virus family for which the name Tricornaviridae has been suggested, the tri indicating the tripartite nature of the genome, the co emphasizing the cooperation of the three genome parts required to initiate infection, and the rna indicating that the genome is composed of RNA. Viruses of this "family" are less uniform in their biological proper ties. A number of them are widespread, causing very destructive plant diseases. Viruses such as those of cucumber mosaic and alfalfa mosaic have very extensive host ranges and are responsible for serious crop losses in many parts of the world. Others such as prunus necrotic ringspot or prune dwarf viruses are more restricted in their host ranges but never theless infect important perennial hosts such as stone fruits and reduce productivity considerably.

Physics of the Invisible Sun

Physics of the Invisible Sun
Author: Ashok Ambastha
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2020-03-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1000760715

Physics of the invisible Sun: Instrumentation, Observations, and Inferences provides a new updated perspectives of the dramatic developments in solar physics mainly after the advent of the space era. It focusses on the instrumentation exploiting the invisible windows of the electromagnetic spectrum for observing the outer, fainter layers of the Sun. It emphasizes on the several technical and observational challenges and proceeds to discuss the discoveries related to energetic phenomena occurring in the transition region and corona. The book begins with giving a brief glimpse of the historical developments during the pre-, and post-telescopic periods of visible and spectroscopic techniques, ground-based optical and radio observing sites. Various types of telescopes and back-end instrumentation are presented based on photometry, spectroscopy, and polarimetry using the Zeeman and Hanle effects for measurement of magnetic fields, and Doppler effect for radial velocity measurements. The book discusses theoretical and observational inferences based on detection of solar neutrinos, and helioseismology as the probes of the hidden solar interior, and tests of solar standard models. The characteristic properties and observational signatures of global solar p- and g-oscillations modes, developments in local helioseismology and asteroseismology are discussed. The role of the solar magnetic field and differential rotation in the activity and magnetic cycles, prediction methodologies, and dynamo models are described. Observing the Sun in IR at the longer, and the UV, EUV, XUV, X-rays, and gamma-rays at the shorter wavelengths are covered in detail. Observational challenges at each of these wavelengths are presented followed by the instrumentation for detection and imaging that have resulted in enhancing the understanding of various solar transient phenomena, such as, flares and CMEs. The outer most corona is described as a dynamic, expanding component of the Sun from the theoretical and observational perspectives of the solar wind. It then discusses the topics of the Interplanetary magnetic field, slow and fast solar wind, interaction with magnetised and non-magnetised objects of the solar system, the space weather and the physics of the heliosphere. The chapter on the future directions in solar physics presents a brief overview of the new major facilities in various observing windows, and the future possibilities of observing the Sun from ground and vantage locations in space. Features: Systematic overview of the developments in instrumentation, observational challenges and inferences derived from ground-based and space-borne solar projects. Advances in the understanding about the solar interior from neutrinos and helioseismology. Recent research results and future directions from ground- and space-based observations. This book may serve as a reference book for scientific researchers interested in multi-wavelength instrumentation and observational aspects of solar physics. It may also be used as a textbook for a graduate-level course.

The Plant Viruses

The Plant Viruses
Author: M.H.V. Van Regenmortel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1468470264

This volume of the series The Plant Viruses is devoted to viruses with rod-shaped particles belonging to the following four groups: the toba moviruses (named after tobacco mosaic virus), the tobraviruses (after to bacco rattle), the hordeiviruses (after the latin hordeum in honor of the type member barley stripe mosaic virus), and the not yet officially rec ognized furoviruses (fungus-transmitted rod-shaped viruses, Shirako and Brakke, 1984). At present these clusters of plant viruses are called groups instead of genera or families as is customary in other areas of virology. This pe culiarity of plant viral taxonomy (Matthews, 1982) is due to the fact that the current Plant Virus Subcommittee of the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses is deeply split on what to call the categories or ranks used in virus classification. Some plant virologists believe that the species concept cannot be applied to viruses because this concept, according to them, necessarily involves sexual reproduction and genetic isolation (Milne, 1984; Murant, 1985). This belief no doubt stems from the fact that these authors restrict the use of the term species to biological species. According to them, a collection of similar viral isolates and strains does constitute an individ ual virus, i. e. , it is a taxonomy entity separate from other individual viruses.