Researchers have uncovered a surprising new way pathogens attack plants – using RNA instead of proteins. A study on the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, which causes rice blast disease, found that the fungus secretes a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) into rice cells. This fungal RNA captures and neutralizes a rice microRNA that normally boosts plant immunity.
By blocking the rice microRNA, the pathogen activates a gene called PKR1, which weakens the plant’s defense system and helps the fungus infect the crop more effectively. Scientists believe similar RNA-based interactions may occur across many plant-pathogen systems, opening new possibilities for developing disease-resistant crops using targeted RNA technologies.
Read more at Nature
