Question: what kinds of plants do you use for your experiments?

David Burnett answered on 10 Jan 2022:

I mostly use a plant that we call ‘Benth’. It’s latin name is Niocotiana benthamiana and it’s a close relative of the tobacco plant!

We use it because it is what’s called a model organism, it’s been very well studied and we know lots about it. It’s also used a lot with plant viruses because it’s got a relatively weak immune response so most plant viruses can infect it!