Project Grant 20246701343201

This $993,002 federal Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program supports research at Washington State University to mechanistically understand the biology of interactions between tomato plants and resistance-breaking strains of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV). The key objectives are to: 1) gain insights into the virus-host interactome, 2) identify host proteins that elicit immune responses or confer resistance, and 3) identify plant proteins involved in viral infection and accumulation that could serve as targets for engineering TSWV resistance. The research integrates molecular, genetic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches to systematically investigate the mechanisms responsible for TSWV infection, interactions with hosts, and the underlying interactions between the host and resistance-breaking virus strains. The findings are expected to provide insights into how plants respond and defend against viral infection and pathogenesis, as well as the molecular events that occur during different stages of TSWV infection.