Optimization of a Virus-Induced Gene Silencing System with Soybean yellow common mosaic virus for Gene Function Studies in Soybeans

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an effective tool for the study of soybean gene function. Successful VIGS depends on the interaction between virus spread and plant growth, which can be influenced by environmental conditions. Recently, we developed a new VIGS system derived from the Soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV). Here, we investigated several environmental and developmental factors to improve the efficiency of a SYCMV-based VIGS system to optimize the functional analysis of the soybean. Following SYCMV: Glycine max-phytoene desaturase (GmPDS) infiltration, we investigated the effect of photoperiod, inoculation time, concentration of Agrobacterium inoculm, and growth temperature on VIGS efficiency. In addition, the relative expression of GmPDS between non-silenced and silenced plants was measured by qRT-PCR. We found that gene silencing efficiency was highest at a photoperiod of 16/8 h (light/dark) at a growth temperature of approximately 27°C following syringe infiltration to unrolled unifoliolate leaves in cotyledon stage with a final SYCMV:GmPDS optimal density (OD)(600) of 2.0. Using this optimized protocol, we achieved high efficiency of GmPDS-silencing in various soybean germplasms including cultivated and wild soybeans. We also confirmed that VIGS occurred in the entire plant, including the root, stem, leaves, and flowers, and could transmit GmPDS to other soybean germplasms via mechanical inoculation. This optimized protocol using a SYCMV-based VIGS system in the soybean should provide a fast and effective method to elucidate gene functions and for use in large-scale screening experiments.