COAT PROTEIN-MEDIATED RESISTANCE IN TRANSGENIC PLANTS

This review describes the proposed mechanism(s) of classical virus cro ss-protection in plants, followed by those suggested for coat protein- mediated resistance (CP-mediated resistance). Although both have commo n features, cross-protection is thought to be a complex response cause d by the replication and expression of the entire viral genome, wherea s the resistance conferred by the expression of a virus coat protein g ene is more limited. The term genetically engineered cross-protection is frequently used because in many cases the phenotype of resistance m imics that of cross-protection. However, CP-mediated resistance, altho ugh a narrow term, more accurately describes the resistance that resul ts from the expression of a virus CP gene in transgenic plants.