基于RNA干扰原理抗病毒转基因作物的应用及安全性

基因沉默是广泛存在于各种生物中的一种古老现象，是生物抵抗外来入侵者的保护机制。RNA干扰（RNA interference，RNAi）则是近年来发现的一种重要基因沉默现象。此策略已在植物抗病毒育种等研究中应用，如对水稻、大麦、大豆、玉米、马铃薯、番茄、辣椒、木瓜、南瓜、李、烟草等的抗病毒研究。在转基因抗病毒展现出诱人的前景时,对转基因抗病毒植物释放的安全性问题的关注也越来越多。本文介绍了RNAi的作用机制，在转基因抗病毒育种中的应用,并探讨了以RNAi为基础的转基因抗病毒作物的食用安全性和环境安全性等问题。

Application and biosafety of transgenic antiviral crops based on RNA interference

Gene silencing is an ancient commonly occurring phenomenon and a mechanism of self protection in defending abnormal intruder of living organisms. RNA interference (RNAi), a recently discovered natural biological process, is an important gene silencing technology. RNAi has been widely used in the transgenic breeding for improving crops with viral resistance, including rice, barley, soybean, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, papaya, pumpkin, plum, tobacco and so on. While the attractive prospects loom large as more and more transgenic crops for viral resistance have been developed, the biosafety problem of transgenic crops was also attracted much greater attention. In this paper, the mechanism of RNAi in plants and the application of RNAi technology to the transgenic breeding for viral resistance were reviewed. The biosafety of transgenic antiviral crops mediated by RNAi in foods and environment was also discussed.