Protocol for Exogenous Jasmonate Treatment and Quantitative Assessment of Plant Virus Infection

Plant hormones play a crucial role in mediating antiviral defenses, where different hormones exert diverse effects depending on the specific plant-virus interaction. To conduct a comprehensive assessment of the impact of phytohormones on viral resistance, this chapter proposes a detailed methodology. It takes the role of jasmonic acid (JA) in the tri-partite interactions among Oryza sativa (rice, the host plant), rice stripe virus (RSV), and associated vectors (small brown planthopper, SBPH) as an illustration. The experimental protocol encompasses the acquisition of RSV by SBPH, the establishment of a highly viruliferous population, virus inoculation, exogenous hormone application, and quantitative assessment of disease symptoms. This methodology can be adjusted to investigate the function of phytohormone within diverse plant-virus pathosystems.