Gene silencing goes viral and uncovers the private life of plants

To understand how genes influence plant responses to the environment, it is important to have appropriate tools for studying gene function. This may be a challenge for non-model plant species or plants that are recalcitrant to genetic transformation. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been established as a convenient, rapid, and efficient method for reverse genetics in a wide range of plant species ranging from non-model dicot plants to cereal crop plants. Virus-induced gene silencing is not limited to the green parts of a plant; genes can also be efficiently silenced in roots and reproductive organs. As it is established during later developmental stages, it avoids the problem of embryo- or seedling lethality, which may impede the investigation of some null mutants or transgenic knock-out plants. Virus-induced gene silencing can be designed to target specific members of a gene family, or to co-silence paralogous genes, and it has been adapted for high-throughput analysis. Virus-induced gene silencing has frequently been used to study plant-pathogen interactions and plant development. This review emphasizes the great potential of VIGS for the study of plant-arthropod interactions, ranging from plant-herbivore and plant-pollinator interactions to behavioral animal responses to plants. In spite of this potential, VIGS has not often been adopted by entomologists and plant scientists who study plant-arthropod interactions. We also provide practical considerations for developing or adopting a VIGS system.