%0 Journal Article
%T Advancing virus-induced gene silencing in sunflower: key factors of VIGS spreading and a novel simple protocol.
%A Mardini M
%A Kazancev M
%A Ivoilova E
%A Utkina V
%A Vlasova A
%A Demurin Y
%A Soloviev A
%A Kirov I
%J Plant Methods
%V 20
%N 1
%D 2024 Aug 12
%M 39135113
%F 5.827
%R 10.1186/s13007-024-01241-z
%X Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) is a versatile tool in plant science, yet its application to non-model species like sunflower demands extensive optimization due to transformation challenges. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the factors that significantly affect the efficiency of Agrobacterium-VIGS in sunflowers. After testing a number of approaches, we concluded that the seed vacuum technique followed by 6 h of co-cultivation produced the most efficient VIGS results. Genotype-dependency analysis revealed varying infection percentages (62-91%) and silencing symptom spreading in different sunflower genotypes. Additionally, we explored the mobility of tobacco rattle virus (TRV) and phenotypic silencing manifestation (photo-bleaching) across different tissues and regions of VIGS-infected sunflower plants. We showed the presence of TRV is not necessarily limited to tissues with observable silencing events. Finally, time-lapse observation demonstrated a more active spreading of the photo-bleached spots in young tissues compared to mature ones. This study not only offers a robust VIGS protocol for sunflowers but also provides valuable insights into genotype-dependent responses and the dynamic nature of silencing events, shedding light on TRV mobility across different plant tissues.