School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 3;24(15):12391. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512391.
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.
我们保护全球自然生态系统的责任与我们养活不断增长的人口的需求之间日益冲突。常规农药的使用不仅会破坏环境和脆弱的生物多样性，而且仍然无法防止因害虫和病原体导致的 20-40%的作物损失。人们越来越呼吁采取更具生态可持续性的病原体控制措施。基于 RNA 的生物农药为作物保护提供了一种对常规杀真菌剂更环保的替代方案。尽管表达诱导病原体特异性 RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 的转基因已被证明对许多重要的农业真菌病原体有效，但在许多国家，对作物的基因改造 (GM) 仍然存在争议。针对特定病原体的 RNAi 诱导喷雾剂的局部应用是一种更具响应性、无 GM 的传统基于 RNAi 转基因作物保护方法。对必需病原体基因的特异性靶向、RNAi-纳米颗粒载体喷雾制剂的开发以及 RNA 分子本身的可能结构修饰对于这项新技术的成功至关重要。在这里，我们概述了植物和真菌中基因沉默途径的当前理解，并总结了探索基于 RNA 的生物农药用于防治真菌病原体的开创性和最新工作，重点介绍喷雾诱导基因沉默 (SIGS)。此外，我们还讨论了可能影响基于 RNA 的控制策略成功的因素，包括 RNA 的摄取、稳定性、扩增以及在植物宿主和病原体内部和之间的移动，以及 RNA 农药的成本和设计。
