Abstract
Main conclusion
The study evaluates the potential of Spray-Induced Gene Silencing and Host-Induced Gene Silencing for sustainable crop protection against the broad-spectrum necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.
Abstract
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, an aggressive ascomycete fungus causes white rot or cottony rot on a broad range of crops including Brassica juncea. The lack of sustainable control measures has necessitated biotechnological interventions such as RNA interference (RNAi) for effective pathogen control. Here we adopted two RNAi-based strategies—Spray-Induced Gene Silencing (SIGS) and Host-Induced Gene Silencing (HIGS) to control S. sclerotiorum. SIGS was successful in controlling white rot on Nicotiana benthamiana and B. juncea by targeting SsPac1, a pH-responsive transcription factor and SsSmk1, a MAP kinase involved in fungal development and pathogenesis. Topical application of dsRNA targeting SsPac1 and SsSmk1 delayed infection initiation and progression on B. juncea. Further, altered hyphal morphology and reduced radial growth were also observed following dsRNA application. We also explored the impact of stable dsRNA expression in A. thaliana against S. sclerotiorum. In this report, we highlight the utility of RNAi as a biofungicide and a tool for preliminary functional genomics.
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No omics data were used in the research.
Abbreviations
- dsRNA:
-
Double-stranded RNA
- HIGS:
-
Host-Induced Gene Silencing
- hpi:
-
Hours post-infection
- MAPK:
-
Mitogen-activated protein kinase
- MM:
-
Minimal medium
- PDA:
-
Potato dextrose agar
- RNAi:
-
RNA interference
- SIGS:
-
Spray-Induced Gene Silencing
- siRNAs:
-
Small-interfering RNAs
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Acknowledgements
The work was financially supported by the Department of Biotechnology project (BT/PR8731/AG/136/765/2013), MHRD project (STARS/APR2019/607), and DU IoE-FRP. PP thanks CSIR for JRF/SRF. We are grateful for the instrumentation facility at the Department of Genetics, UDSC supported by DST-FIST/UGC-SAP and the CIF, UDSC.
Funding
Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, BT/PR8731/AG/136/765/2013, Jagreet Kaur, Ministry of Education, STARS/APR2019/607, Jagreet Kaur, University of Delhi, IoE-FRP, Jagreet Kaur.
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JK conceived the study. PP conducted the experiments and analysed the data. PP and JK wrote, read, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Pant, P., Kaur, J. Control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum via an RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated targeting of SsPac1 and SsSmk1. Planta 259, 153 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04430-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04430-1