Abstract
With the understanding of nematode-plant interactions at the molecular level, new avenues for engineering resistance have opened up, with RNA interference being one of them. Induction of RNAi by delivering double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has been very successful in the model non-parasitic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, while in plant nematodes, dsRNA delivery has been accomplished by soaking nematodes with dsRNA solution mixed with synthetic neurostimulants. The success of in vitro RNAi of target genes has inspired the use of in planta delivery of dsRNA to feeding nematodes. The most convincing success of host-delivered RNAi has been achieved against root-knot nematodes. Plant-mediated RNAi has been shown to lead to the specific down-regulation of target genes in invading nematodes, which had a profound effect on nematode development. RNAi-based transgenics are advantageous as they do not produce any functional foreign proteins and target organisms in a sequence-specific manner. Although the development of RNAi-based transgenics against plant nematodes is still in the preliminary stage, they offer novel management strategy for the future.
Highlights
To date, more than 4100 species of plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) have been reported (Jones et al, 2013) and collectively they are one of the major limiting factors in crop production worldwide besides insects and pathogens
One major concern regarding the employment of RNA interference (RNAi)-based nematode management strategy is the potential for off-target effects
As the RNAi mechanism occurs in a highly sequence-specific manner, cross-hybridization with endogenous transcripts having partial homology to the introduced double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecule may lead to silencing of non-target genes, which may have effects in non-targeted organisms
Summary
More than 4100 species of plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) have been reported (Jones et al, 2013) and collectively they are one of the major limiting factors in crop production worldwide besides insects and pathogens.
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