Question

Name the nematode that infests and damages tobacco roots. How are transgenic tobacco plants produced to solve this problem

Answer 1

Nematodes are the group of roundworms belonging to the phylum nematode. They are present in abundance in the soil and are habitant of mostly all environment types. The nematode which affects the roots of tobacco plants is MeloidogyneMeloidogyneincognitaincognita. They infect the roots of tobacco plants thus decreasing the yield of plants.

Transgenic tobacco plants are produced in the following process:

(i) To prevent the roots of tobacco plants from infections the process of RNA interference (RNAi) is used.

(ii) Nematode-specific genes are introduced into the host plants using Agrobacterium vectors.

(iii) The introduction of DNA is in such a way that it produceses both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host cells.

(iv) These two RNAs being complementary to each other forms a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that initiated RNAi and thus, silenced the specific mRNA of the nematode.

(v) Thus the parasite is not able to survive in a transgenic host expressing specific interfering RNA and the plant is protected from the parasite.