RNA Interference Mechanisms and Applications in Plant Pathology

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 581-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Rosa ◽  
Yen-Wen Kuo ◽  
Hada Wuriyanghan ◽  
Bryce W. Falk
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathology ◽  
Rna Interference ◽  
Gene Function ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Endogenous Genes

The origin of RNA interference (RNAi), the cell sentinel system widely shared among eukaryotes that recognizes RNAs and specifically degrades or prevents their translation in cells, is suggested to predate the last eukaryote common ancestor ( 138 ). Of particular relevance to plant pathology is that in plants, but also in some fungi, insects, and lower eukaryotes, RNAi is a primary and effective antiviral defense, and recent studies have revealed that small RNAs (sRNAs) involved in RNAi play important roles in other plant diseases, including those caused by cellular plant pathogens. Because of this, and because RNAi can be manipulated to interfere with the expression of endogenous genes in an intra- or interspecific manner, RNAi has been used as a tool in studies of gene function but also for plant protection. Here, we review the discovery of RNAi, canonical mechanisms, experimental and translational applications, and new RNA-based technologies of importance to plant pathology.

scholarly journals Synergistic Antifungal Activity of Graphene Oxide and Fungicides against Fusarium Head Blight In Vitro and In Vivo

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2393
Author(s):  
Xiuping Wang ◽  
Fei Peng ◽  
Caihong Cheng ◽  
Lina Chen ◽  
Xuejuan Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graphene Oxide ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Agricultural Science ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Synergistic Activity

Plant pathogens constantly develop resistance to antimicrobial agents, and this poses great challenges to plant protection. Therefore, there is a pressing need to search for new antimicrobials. The combined use of antimicrobial agents with different antifungal mechanisms has been recognized as a promising approach to manage plant diseases. Graphene oxide (GO) is a newly emerging and highly promising antimicrobial agent against various plant pathogens in agricultural science. In this study, the inhibitory activity of GO combined with fungicides (Mancozeb, Cyproconazol and Difenoconazole) against Fusarium graminearum was investigated in vivo and in vitro. The results revealed that the combination of GO and fungicides has significant synergistic inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth, mycelial biomass and spore germination of F. graminearum relative to single fungicides. The magnitude of synergy was found to depend on the ratio of GO and fungicide in the composite. In field tests, GO–fungicides could significantly reduce the disease incidence and disease severity, exhibiting a significantly improved control efficacy on F. graminearum. The strong synergistic activity of GO with existing fungicides demonstrates the great application potential of GO in pest management.

scholarly journals Lesson from Ecotoxicity: Revisiting the Microbial Lipopeptides for the Management of Emerging Diseases for Crop Protection

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1434
Author(s):  
Deepti Malviya ◽  
Pramod Kumar Sahu ◽  
Udai B. Singh ◽  
Surinder Paul ◽  
Amrita Gupta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Biofilm Inhibition

Microorganisms area treasure in terms of theproduction of various bioactive compounds which are being explored in different arenas of applied sciences. In agriculture, microbes and their bioactive compounds are being utilized in growth promotion and health promotion withnutrient fortification and its acquisition. Exhaustive explorations are unraveling the vast diversity of microbialcompounds with their potential usage in solving multiferous problems incrop production. Lipopeptides are one of such microbial compounds which havestrong antimicrobial properties against different plant pathogens. These compounds are reported to be produced by bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, and few other microorganisms; however, genus Bacillus alone produces a majority of diverse lipopeptides. Lipopeptides are low molecular weight compounds which havemultiple industrial roles apart from being usedas biosurfactants and antimicrobials. In plant protection, lipopeptides have wide prospects owing totheirpore-forming ability in pathogens, siderophore activity, biofilm inhibition, and dislodging activity, preventing colonization bypathogens, antiviral activity, etc. Microbes with lipopeptides that haveall these actions are good biocontrol agents. Exploring these antimicrobial compounds could widen the vistasof biological pest control for existing and emerging plant pathogens. The broader diversity and strong antimicrobial behavior of lipopeptides could be a boon for dealing withcomplex pathosystems and controlling diseases of greater economic importance. Understanding which and how these compounds modulate the synthesis and production of defense-related biomolecules in the plants is a key question—the answer of whichneeds in-depth investigation. The present reviewprovides a comprehensive picture of important lipopeptides produced by plant microbiome, their isolation, characterization, mechanisms of disease control, behavior against phytopathogens to understand different aspects of antagonism, and potential prospects for future explorations as antimicrobial agents. Understanding and exploring the antimicrobial lipopeptides from bacteria and fungi could also open upan entire new arena of biopesticides for effective control of devastating plant diseases.

scholarly journals Prediction and Characterization of RXLR Effectors in Pythium Species

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gan Ai ◽  
Kun Yang ◽  
Yuee Tian ◽  
Wenwu Ye ◽  
Hai Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Genome Rearrangement ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Biocontrol Agents ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Rxlr Effectors

AbstractBeing widely existed in oomycetes, the RXLR effector features conserved RXLR-dEER motifs in its N terminal. Every known Phytophthora or Hyaloperonospora pathogen harbors hundreds of RXLRs. In Pythium species, however, none of the RXLR effectors has been characterized yet. Here, we developed a stringent method for de novo identification of RXLRs and characterized 359 putative RXLR effectors from nine tested Pythium species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a single superfamily formed by all oomycetous RXLRs, suggesting they descent from a common ancestor. RXLR effectors from Pythium and Phytophthora species exhibited similar sequence features, protein structures and genome locations. In particular, the mosquito biological agent P. guiyangense contains a significantly larger RXLR repertoire than the other eight Pythium species examined, which may result from gene duplication and genome rearrangement events as indicated by synteny analysis. Expression pattern analysis of RXLR-encoding genes in the plant pathogen P. ultimum detected transcripts from the vast majority of predicted RXLRs with some of them being induced at infection stages. One such RXLRs showed necrosis-inducing activity. Furthermore, all predicted RXLRs were cloned from two biocontrol agents P. oligandrum and P. periplocum. Three of them were found to encode effectors inducing defense response in Nicotiana benthamiana. Taken together, our findings represent the first complete synopsis of Pythium RXLR effectors, which provides critical clues on their evolutionary patterns as well as the mechanisms of their interactions with diverse hosts.Author summaryPathogens from the Pythium genus are widespread across multiple ecological niches. Most of them are soilborne plant pathogens whereas others cause infectious diseases in mammals. Some Pythium species can be used as biocontrol agents for plant diseases or mosquito management. Despite that phylogenetically close oomycete pathogens secrete RXLR effectors to enable infection, no RXLR protein was previously characterized in any Pythium species. Here we developed a stringent method to predict Pythium RXLR effectors and compared them with known RXLRs from other species. All oomycetous RXLRs form a huge superfamily, which indicates they may share a common ancestor. Our sequence analysis results suggest that the expansion of RXLR repertoire results from gene duplication and genome recombination events. We further demonstrated that most predicted Pythium RXLRs can be transcribed and some of them encode effectors exhibiting pathogenic or defense-inducing activities. This work expands our understanding of RXLR evolution in oomycetes in general, and provides novel insights into the molecular interactions between Pythium pathogens and their diverse hosts.

scholarly journals De Novo Design of Antimicrobial Peptides With a Special Charge Pattern and Their Application in Combating Plant Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric H. -L. Chen ◽  
Cheng-Wei Weng ◽  
Yi-Min Li ◽  
Ming-Chin Wu ◽  
Chien-Chih Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Acyl Chain ◽  
Fatty Acyl ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Basic Residue ◽  
Wide Range

Plant diseases are important issues in agriculture, and the development of effective and environment-friendly means of disease control is crucial and highly desired. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are known as potential alternatives to chemical pesticides because of their potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and because they have no risk, or have only a low risk, of developing chemical-resistant pathogens. In this study, we designed a series of amphipathic helical peptides with different spatial distributions of positive charges and found that the peptides that had a special sequence pattern “BBHBBHHBBH” (“B” for basic residue and “H” for hydrophobic residue) displayed excellent bactericidal and fungicidal activities in a wide range of economically important plant pathogens. The peptides with higher helical propensity had lower antimicrobial activity. When we modified the peptides with a long acyl chain at their N-terminus, their plant protection effect improved. Our application of the fatty acyl-modified peptides on the leaves of tomato and Arabidopsis plants lessened the infection caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and Botrytis cinerea. Our study provides important insights on the development of more potent novel AMPs for plant protection.

scholarly journals RNA interference approaches for plant disease control

BioTechniques ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 469-477
Author(s):  
Yen-Wen Kuo ◽  
Bryce W Falk
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Plant Disease ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Control Plant ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Plant Disease Control

Plant diseases caused by a variety of pathogens can have severe effects on crop plants and even plants in natural ecosystems. Despite many effective conventional approaches to control plant diseases, new, efficacious, environmentally sound and cost-effective approaches are needed, particularly with our increasing human population and the effects on crop production and plant health caused by climate change. RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene regulation and antiviral response mechanism in eukaryotes; transgenic and non transgenic plant-based RNAi approaches have shown great effectiveness and potential to target specific plant pathogens and help control plant diseases, especially when no alternatives are available. Here we discuss ways in which RNAi has been used against different plant pathogens, and some new potential applications for plant disease control.

scholarly journals Use of Competitive Filamentous Fungi as an Alternative Approach for Mycotoxin Risk Reduction in Staple Cereals: State of Art and Future Perspectives

Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Sarrocco ◽  
Antonio Mauro ◽  
Paola Battilani
Keyword(s):  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Control Plant ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Head Blight ◽  
Mycotoxigenic Fungi ◽  
Beneficial Fungi

Among plant fungal diseases, those affecting cereals represent a huge problem in terms of food security and safety. Cereals, such as maize and wheat, are very often targets of mycotoxigenic fungi. The limited availability of chemical plant protection products and physical methods to control mycotoxigenic fungi and to reduce food and feed mycotoxin contamination fosters alternative approaches, such as the use of beneficial fungi as an active ingredient of biological control products. Competitive interactions, including both exploitation and interference competition, between pathogenic and beneficial fungi, are generally recognized as mechanisms to control plant pathogens populations and to manage plant diseases. In the present review, two examples concerning the use of competitive beneficial filamentous fungi for the management of cereal diseases are discussed. The authors retrace the history of the well-established use of non-aflatoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus to prevent aflatoxin contamination in maize and give an overview of the potential use of competitive beneficial filamentous fungi to manage Fusarium Head Blight on wheat and mitigate fusaria toxin contamination. Although important steps have been made towards the development of microorganisms as active ingredients of plant protection products, a reasoned revision of the registration rules is needed to significantly reduce the chemical based plant protection products in agriculture.

Durability of efficacy of microbial bioprotectants against plant diseases

2021 ◽  
pp. 103-122
Author(s):  
Marc Bardin ◽  
◽  
Thomas Pressecq ◽  
Philippe C. Nicot ◽  
Yousra Bouaoud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Field Efficacy ◽  
Selection Of

Plant pathogens can develop resistance to conventional plant protection products but their ability to overcome the effect of microbial bioprotectants is still poorly known. However, various studies show that susceptibility of plant pathogens to microbial bioprotectants can be highly variable. This may contribute to the inconsistent efficacy of microbial bioprotectants sometimes observed in the field. An important question is whether the widespread use of microbial bioprotectants in the field could conduct to the selection of even more resistant phenotypes of plant pathogens. This chapter highlights current knowledge concerning erosion of microbial bioprotectants against plant pathogens and its possible consequences for field efficacy.

Advances in screening approaches for the development of microbial bioprotectants to control plant diseases

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-86
Author(s):  
Wagner Bettiol ◽  
◽  
Flávio Henrique Vasconcelos de Medeiros ◽  
Josiane Barros Chiaramonte ◽  
Rodrigo Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Control Plant ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Fungal Plant Pathogens ◽  
Soil Rhizosphere ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Screening Approaches

The success of a biological control programme depends on the isolation and selection of antagonists. There is an enormous diversity of culturable microbial species in the soil, rhizosphere, phylloplane, spermosphere and carposphere, which can be used in the isolation and selection of antagonists. The structures of fungal plant pathogens concerned with survival and infection may also be sources of antagonists. Although non-culturable microorganisms and microbiome-based strategies have great potential for development as commercial products in disease control, more knowledge is needed to understand the mechanisms involved in interactions between plants and complex microbial communities. Methods of isolation and selection of the most commercially exploited groups of antagonists and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this chapter as well as those of non-traditional antagonists. Finally, possible strategies for engineering the soil and host microbiome to actively promote plant protection against pathogens are discussed.

scholarly journals Small RNAs tackle large viruses: RNA interference-based antiviral defense against DNA viruses in insects

Fly ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred W Bronkhorst ◽  
Pascal Miesen ◽  
Ronald P van Rij
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Antiviral Defense ◽  
Dna Viruses

scholarly journals Inhibition of Fungal and Bacterial Plant Pathogens In Vitro and In Planta with Ultrashort Cationic Lipopeptides

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (20) ◽  
pp. 6629-6636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arik Makovitzki ◽  
Ada Viterbo ◽  
Yariv Brotman ◽  
Ilan Chet ◽  
Yechiel Shai
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Global Food Security

ABSTRACT Plant diseases constitute an emerging threat to global food security. Many of the currently available antimicrobial agents for agriculture are highly toxic and nonbiodegradable and cause extended environmental pollution. Moreover, an increasing number of phytopathogens develop resistance to them. Recently, we have reported on a new family of ultrashort antimicrobial lipopeptides which are composed of only four amino acids linked to fatty acids (A. Makovitzki, D. Avrahami, and Y. Shai, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103:15997-16002, 2006). Here, we investigated the activities in vitro and in planta and the modes of action of these short lipopeptides against plant-pathogenic bacteria and fungi. They act rapidly, at low micromolar concentrations, on the membranes of the microorganisms via a lytic mechanism. In vitro microscopic analysis revealed wide-scale damage to the microorganism's membrane, in addition to inhibition of pathogen growth. In planta potent antifungal activity was demonstrated on cucumber fruits and leaves infected with the pathogen Botrytis cinerea as well as on corn leaves infected with Cochliobolus heterostrophus. Similarly, treatment with the lipopeptides of Arabidopsis leaves infected with the bacterial leaf pathogen Pseudomonas syringae efficiently and rapidly reduced the number of bacteria. Importantly, in contrast to what occurred with many native lipopeptides, no toxicity was observed on the plant tissues. These data suggest that the ultrashort lipopeptides could serve as native-like antimicrobial agents economically feasible for use in plant protection.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document