Groundbreaking discovery in plant immunity offers new hope for virus-resistant crops and human disease prevention

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery, uncovering how plants prevent viruses from being passed to their offspring. This finding not only holds promise for developing healthier crops but may also contribute to reducing the transmission of diseases from mothers to their human children. The agricultural challenge Plant viruses pose a significant global threat, often spreading across borders through the seed trade. As a result, the transmission of diseases from parent plants to their progeny—referred to as vertical transmission—is a major concern for agriculture worldwide. Some viruses can remain dormant in seeds for years, making this issue particularly challenging. “Viruses can hide in seeds for years, making this one of the most important issues in agriculture,” said Shou-Wei Ding, distinguished professor at UC Riverside’s Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology and corresponding author of a new paper published in Cell Host & Microbe. Despite this risk, when a virus-infected mother plant produces 100 seeds,...