Beyond Myrtle Rust: Exogenous RNA interference inhibits infection physiology
Rust fungi (Pucciniales) are the largest group of fungal plant pathogens and pose an increasing threat to native biodiversity and annual crop yields alike. RNA interference (RNAi) is a largely conserved eukaryotic post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism. Exogenous RNAi is a sustainable approach for the control of plant pathogenic fungi, including rusts. Rebecca Degnan and supervisors have examined the impact and mechanisms of exogenous RNAi on Austropuccinia psidii (the causal agent of myrtle rust) through in vitro and in planta assays. Join us to hear Rebecca talk about her study where exogenous RNAi of essential rust genes significantly reduced germination of spores and inhibited the development of crucial infection structures. Exogenous RNAi was effective in planta, significantly reducing myrtle rust symptoms on one-year-old Syzygium jambos trees. Further work showed that dsRNA can also have a curative role, A picture containing agave, plant, vegetable reducing myrtle rust disease symptoms and improving overall plant health when applied to trees up to 14 days post-infection. This demonstrates the real-world application of exogenous RNAi against rusts on mature plants. Through comparative genomics, key genes of the RNAi pathway were identified across eight families of Pucciniales, which together with in vitro and in planta results, suggests wide-scale amenability of rusts to RNAi. These findings indicate that exogenous RNAi against essential genes has the potential for use in broad-use management of rusts across natural and Syzygium jambos detached leaf assay agricultural systems.
Rust fungi (Pucciniales) are the largest group of fungal plant pathogens and pose an increasing threat to native biodiversity and annual crop yields alike. RNA interference (RNAi) is a largely conserved eukaryotic post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism. Exogenous RNAi is a sustainable approach for the control of plant pathogenic fungi, including rusts. Rebecca Degnan and supervisors have examined the impact and mechanisms of exogenous RNAi on Austropuccinia psidii (the causal agent of myrtle rust) through in vitro and in planta assays. Join us to hear Rebecca talk about her study where exogenous RNAi of essential rust genes significantly reduced germination of spores and inhibited the development of crucial infection structures. Exogenous RNAi was effective in planta, significantly reducing myrtle rust symptoms on one-year-old Syzygium jambos trees. Further work showed that dsRNA can also have a curative role, A picture containing agave, plant, vegetable reducing myrtle rust disease symptoms and improving overall plant health when applied to trees up to 14 days post-infection. This demonstrates the real-world application of exogenous RNAi against rusts on mature plants. Through comparative genomics, key genes of the RNAi pathway were identified across eight families of Pucciniales, which together with in vitro and in planta results, suggests wide-scale amenability of rusts to RNAi. These findings indicate that exogenous RNAi against essential genes has the potential for use in broad-use management of rusts across natural and Syzygium jambos detached leaf assay agricultural systems.