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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #432911
Research Project: Management and Biology of Insect and Nematode Pests and their Vectored Plant Pathogens

Location: Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research

Title: A transgenic plant strategy to block the spread of aphid-borne poleroviruses into non-transgenic crops

Author
item PREISING, STEPHANIE - Cornell University
item COHEN, ANNA - Cornell University
item WEST-ORTIZ, MICHAEL - Cornell University
item PARKER, GLENN - Cornell University
item Wilson, Jennifer
item RAHAMAN, ALEXANDER - Cornell University
item POLLOCK, EMMA - Cornell University
item OLMEDO-VELARDE, ALEJANDRO - Cornell University
item ADAMS, MYFANWY - Cornell University
item SIN, JING - Cornell University
item Chappie, Joshua
item Heck, Michelle

Submitted to: bioRxiv
Publication Type: Pre-print Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/27/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Aphids spread many of agriculture’s most economically damaging viruses. Virus infections in plants cannot be cured once established. Preventing infection remains the most effective way to protect plants from loss to viral disease. Due to resistance and increasing regulatory scrutiny, insecticide options to manage aphid vectors are shrinking. We show that expressing a small, virus-derived “readthrough” protein domain (NRTD) in transgenic potato disrupts key insect-virus interactions required for transmission. In greenhouse arenas that mimic field spread, NRTD plants reduce aphid movement, lowered virus levels in aphids, decreased plant infection and protected yield, even when only the border rows were transgenic, shielding neighboring, non-transgenic plants. We further show that engineered NRTD proteins can be adapted to block acquisition of other related, aphid-transmitted viruses and in some cases directly kill multiple aphid species, offering a scalable new framework for virus and vector management.

Technical Abstract: Hemipteran insects are major agricultural pests, causing significant damage through feeding and are efficient vectors of plant pathogens. Aphids, in particular, transmit many of the most economically important viruses. The reliance on synthetic insecticides amid growing legislative restrictions coupled with the rapid development of insecticide-resistant aphid populations leaves crops vulnerable to infestation and viral infection. Viral infections cannot be cured in plants. Prevention remains the most effective management strategy, yet practical approaches to block aphid-mediated transmission are limited. Here, we demonstrate that transgenic expression of the polerovirus potato leafroll virus (PLRV) N-terminal readthrough domain (NRTD) provides multiple layers of control against PLRV infection, including blocking virus acquisition and transmission by aphid vectors, reducing viral titers, and impairing aphid movement. Using a combination of large-scale screen house and lab-based experiments, we show that NRTD protection against PLRV infection is achieved when arenas contain all transgenic plants or protective border rows of transgenic material. Building on previous observations, we also provide evidence that purified PLRV NRTD mutants and NRTD proteins from other poleroviruses can act as potent biopesticides that are lethal to multiple aphid species. Our data collectively support the idea that NRTD-based strategies offer a scalable, translational framework for protecting global agriculture from aphid-borne viruses and a new avenue for insect pest management.