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RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants

Our duty to conserve global natural ecosystems is increasingly in conflict with our need to feed an expanding population. The use of conventional pesticides not only damages the environment and vulnerable biodiversity but can also still fail to prevent crop losses of 20–40% due to pests and pathogen...

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Autores principales: Mann, Christopher W. G., Sawyer, Anne, Gardiner, Donald M., Mitter, Neena, Carroll, Bernard J., Eamens, Andrew L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10418863/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37569766
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512391
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author Mann, Christopher W. G.
Sawyer, Anne
Gardiner, Donald M.
Mitter, Neena
Carroll, Bernard J.
Eamens, Andrew L.
author_facet Mann, Christopher W. G.
Sawyer, Anne
Gardiner, Donald M.
Mitter, Neena
Carroll, Bernard J.
Eamens, Andrew L.
author_sort Mann, Christopher W. G.
collection PubMed
description Our duty to conserve global natural ecosystems is increasingly in conflict with our need to feed an expanding population. The use of conventional pesticides not only damages the environment and vulnerable biodiversity but can also still fail to prevent crop losses of 20–40% due to pests and pathogens. There is a growing call for more ecologically sustainable pathogen control measures. RNA-based biopesticides offer an eco-friendly alternative to the use of conventional fungicides for crop protection. The genetic modification (GM) of crops remains controversial in many countries, though expression of transgenes inducing pathogen-specific RNA interference (RNAi) has been proven effective against many agronomically important fungal pathogens. The topical application of pathogen-specific RNAi-inducing sprays is a more responsive, GM-free approach to conventional RNAi transgene-based crop protection. The specific targeting of essential pathogen genes, the development of RNAi-nanoparticle carrier spray formulations, and the possible structural modifications to the RNA molecules themselves are crucial to the success of this novel technology. Here, we outline the current understanding of gene silencing pathways in plants and fungi and summarize the pioneering and recent work exploring RNA-based biopesticides for crop protection against fungal pathogens, with a focus on spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS). Further, we discuss factors that could affect the success of RNA-based control strategies, including RNA uptake, stability, amplification, and movement within and between the plant host and pathogen, as well as the cost and design of RNA pesticides.
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spelling pubmed-104188632023-08-12 RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants Mann, Christopher W. G. Sawyer, Anne Gardiner, Donald M. Mitter, Neena Carroll, Bernard J. Eamens, Andrew L. Int J Mol Sci Review Our duty to conserve global natural ecosystems is increasingly in conflict with our need to feed an expanding population. The use of conventional pesticides not only damages the environment and vulnerable biodiversity but can also still fail to prevent crop losses of 20–40% due to pests and pathogens. There is a growing call for more ecologically sustainable pathogen control measures. RNA-based biopesticides offer an eco-friendly alternative to the use of conventional fungicides for crop protection. The genetic modification (GM) of crops remains controversial in many countries, though expression of transgenes inducing pathogen-specific RNA interference (RNAi) has been proven effective against many agronomically important fungal pathogens. The topical application of pathogen-specific RNAi-inducing sprays is a more responsive, GM-free approach to conventional RNAi transgene-based crop protection. The specific targeting of essential pathogen genes, the development of RNAi-nanoparticle carrier spray formulations, and the possible structural modifications to the RNA molecules themselves are crucial to the success of this novel technology. Here, we outline the current understanding of gene silencing pathways in plants and fungi and summarize the pioneering and recent work exploring RNA-based biopesticides for crop protection against fungal pathogens, with a focus on spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS). Further, we discuss factors that could affect the success of RNA-based control strategies, including RNA uptake, stability, amplification, and movement within and between the plant host and pathogen, as well as the cost and design of RNA pesticides. MDPI 2023-08-03 /pmc/articles/PMC10418863/ /pubmed/37569766 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512391 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Mann, Christopher W. G.
Sawyer, Anne
Gardiner, Donald M.
Mitter, Neena
Carroll, Bernard J.
Eamens, Andrew L.
RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title_full RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title_fullStr RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title_full_unstemmed RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title_short RNA-Based Control of Fungal Pathogens in Plants
title_sort rna-based control of fungal pathogens in plants
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10418863/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37569766
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512391
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