Virus-induced PpCHLH gene silencing in peach leaves (Prunus persica)

Compared with other model plants or crops, studies on the molecular biology of fruit trees have lagged behind due to technical difficulties in gene transformation and manipulation. Therefore, developing an efficient system for gene manipulation is of particular significance in fruit trees. Here, we report on a method for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) by syringe-infiltrating a tobacco rattle virus (TRV) vector containing a specific target gene sequence into peach (Prunus persica) leaves to analyse gene function. The target gene (PpCHLH) was a 4,445 bp sequence encoding the H subunit of magnesium chelatase and was first cloned as a cDNA. This gene (PpCHLH) is reported to be related to chlorophyll biosynthesis, and any loss of function leads to a decrease in chlorophyll content, with concomitant yellow or white colour changes in the leaves. To silence the PpCHLH gene, a 1:1 mixture of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101 cultures containing pTRV1 or a pTRV2 vector construct with a 650 bp cDNA fragment of the PpCHLH gene was infiltrated into leaves of 4 - 5 week-old peach seedlings. After 15 d, the inoculated areas of the green leaves faded and finally turned yellow or white. Loss of PpCHLH gene function was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, real-time qRT-PCR, and siRNA northern blot analysis. The virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique developed here could be used for further molecular studies on fruit trees.