Plant-pathogen interaction in viral infections

Plant viruses depend largely on host factors to replicate in the cell and to propagate throughout the plant and between individual plants. Plants in turn have developed antiviral defence mechanisms that must be counteracted by viral factors. These factors appear to be preferred targets for alternative plant defences. In our laboratory, we try to understand this complex interplay, mainly in the infection of the potyvirus Plum pox virus (PPV), the causal agent of sharka, a damaging disease of Prunus trees. We are especially interested in defence responses related to RNA silencing and its viral suppressors.