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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2024, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (4): 266-278.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.23-322

• Invited Review •     Next Articles

Advances in the mechanisms and applications of RNA silencing in crop protection

Wen Tian1,2(), Ting Chen1,2(), Qingyan Liu1,2, Bosen Zhang1, Huishan Guo1,2(), Jianhua Zhao1,2()   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2023-12-29 Revised:2024-03-13 Online:2024-04-20 Published:2024-03-22
  • Contact: Huishan Guo, Jianhua Zhao E-mail:tianwen9797@163.com;chent202202@163.com;guohs@im.ac.cn;zhaojh@im.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Science and Technology Plan Project(2022DB014)

Abstract:

RNA silencing (or RNA interference, RNAi) is a conserved mechanism for regulating gene expression in eukaryotes, which plays vital roles in plant development and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. The discovery of trans-kingdom RNAi and interspecies RNAi provides a theoretical basis for exploiting RNAi-based crop protection strategies. Here, we summarize the canonical RNAi mechanisms in plants and review representative studies associated with plant-pathogen interactions. Meanwhile, we also elaborate upon the principles of host-induced gene silencing, spray-induced gene silencing and microbe-induced gene silencing, and discuss their applications in crop protection, thereby providing help to establish novel RNAi-based crop protection strategies.

Key words: RNA silencing, trans-kingdom RNAi, interspecies RNAi, host-induced gene silencing, spray-induced gene silencing, microbe-induced gene silencing