Protocol: using virus-induced gene silencing to study the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in Pisum sativum

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an alternative reverse genetics tool for silencing of genes in some plants, which are difficult to transform. The pea early-browning virus (PEBV) has been developed as a VIGS vector and used in pea for functional analysis of several genes. However, the available PEBV-VIGS protocols are inadequate for studying genes involved in the symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).

Here we describe a PEBV-VIGS protocol suitable for reverse genetics studies in pea of genes involved in the symbiosis with AMF and show its effectiveness in silencing genes involved in the early and late stages of AMF symbiosis.