Development of Tomato Leaf Curl Virus Resistance: From Plant Breeding to Genome Editing

Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) is a major constraint for global tomato production. ToLCV affects a variety of crops other than those in the Solanaceae family. ToLCV genome is compact and codes for structural and functional proteins that helps the virus to evade host mechanism. This article discusses the genomic architecture and functionalities of ToLCV genes, the influence of satellite DNA expression on host genes, plant-pathogen interactions (specifically host gene interactions with begomoviruses), the evolution and distribution of begomoviruses, strategies for developing virus-resistant plant varieties, the challenges in developing such crops, the role of genome editing in addressing these challenges, and the future directions for enhancing techniques to develop ToLCV or virus-resistant plants. In addition, we have discussed the unexplored methods for producing disease resistance in plant system. We also suggested a multi-level approach required to target various critical life-cycle virus genes in a single system with multiple approaches to increase resistance and prevent mutant escape and evolution.