TIME ：12:40-14:00 Jun 30, 2021 (Wednesday)

VENUE：Room 104, Building B, School of Agriculture and Biology

ORGANIZER：Office of Discipline and Science & Technology, SAB; Young Teachers Association, SAB

TITTLE: Trans-species RNAi and Plant Immunity

ABSTRACT: 

Filamentous eukaryotic pathogens, including fungi and oomycetes, are major threats of economically important crops. Most filamentous plant pathogens are biotrophic or hemibiotrophic, engaged in a continuous battle with plant hosts by exchanging active materials to manipulate each other. Oomycetes, such as Phytophthora, are known for secreting a large number of effectors to modulate host immune responses, and accumulating evidence suggests that plant sRNAs can move across species and function as antimicrobial agents against non-viral pathogens. We discovered that plant secondary siRNAs were induced by Phytophthora infection and move into interacting Phytophthora cells. This movement of siRNAs results in decreased expression of Phytophthora transcripts through trans-species RNA interference, thus enhancing plant defense. Therefore, exploiting sRNA transfer mechanisms and engineering siRNA-producing loci could be a useful strategy to engineer crops with improved disease resistance.