Caraba Benedetta, Montanari Arianna, Schifano Emily, Stocchi Fabiana, Costanzo Giovanna, Uccelletti Daniela, Mazzoni Cristina
Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "C. Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council (IBPM-CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy.
Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2025 Jul 20;47(7):570. doi: 10.3390/cimb47070570.
Plant Parasitic Nematodes (PPNs) are a major problem in agriculture. Damage caused by PPNs has been estimated at USD 80-157 billion annually. The estimates could be even worse in the future in the context of a growing world population in a climate change scenario and with the removal/reduction in the use of some nematodicides due to the strong ecological impact. Biocontrol Agents (BCAs) currently constitute only 8.8% of the general pesticide market. With a view to an ecological transition, the transition from pesticides to biopesticides represents an important challenge that appears necessary not only for organic farming, but also in so-called integrated agriculture. Among the possible BCAs, microorganisms, and in particular yeast, which enjoys the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status, have the advantage of being able to be produced on a large scale by fermentation on waste substrates at low cost. In this paper, as proof of concept we constructed yeast strains expressing short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting the gene in . We demonstrate that oral ingestion of yeast cells expressing DAF16 shRNA is efficient in lowering expression and lifespan, suggesting a sustainable RNA interference-based strategy to inhibit the development of PPNs.
植物寄生线虫（PPNs）是农业中的一个主要问题。据估计，PPNs造成的损失每年达800亿至1570亿美元。在气候变化情景下世界人口不断增长以及由于强烈的生态影响导致一些杀线虫剂的使用被取消/减少的情况下，未来的估计可能会更糟。生物防治剂（BCAs）目前仅占一般农药市场的8.8%。为了实现生态转型，从农药向生物农药的转变是一项重大挑战，这不仅对有机农业而言显得必要，在所谓的综合农业中也是如此。在可能的BCAs中，微生物，尤其是具有“一般认为安全”（GRAS）地位的酵母，具有能够利用废弃底物通过发酵低成本大规模生产的优势。在本文中，作为概念验证，我们构建了表达靶向秀丽隐杆线虫中基因的短发夹RNA（shRNAs）的酵母菌株。我们证明，口服表达DAF16 shRNA的酵母细胞可有效降低秀丽隐杆线虫的表达和寿命，这表明了一种基于RNA干扰的可持续策略来抑制PPNs的发育。
