Crops are attacked by a large number of pathogens which are responsible for an approximately 30% loss in global crop production at pre- and post-harvest levels. In light of the continuing emergence of fungicide resistance, the needs for new agricultural drugs turn out to be much more critical. Here we demonstrated a FaβTub-3 dsRNA derived from Fusarium asiaticum had broad-spectrum antifungal activity against Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea, Magnaporthe oryzae and Colletotrichum truncatum, with an additional function of reducing the dosage of carbendazim (MBC) fungicide. RNAi molecules derived from different regions of β-tubulin gene had different effects on mycelial growth, asexual reproduction and virulence. FaβTub-3 (one of β-tubulin segments) exhibited a strong silencing efficacy both on β-tubulin and β-tubulin genes in F. asiaticum. FaβTub-3 sequence was found to be highly conserved among Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea, Magnaporthe oryzae and Colletotrichum truncatum. The FaβTub-3 dsRNA demonstrated a broad-spectrum antifungal activity against these fungi in vitro and on living plant. More importantly, FaβTub-3 dsRNA increased the fungal sensitivity to MBC, while MBC increased the duration of FaβTub-3 dsRNA. Our findings suggest a new anti-fungal agent (FaβTub-3 dsRNA) for plant protection against diverse pathogens and for fungicide reduction.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2018.10.005 | DOI Listing |
Allergol Immunopathol (Madr)
January 2025
Geriatric Department, Suzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China;
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by chronic inflammation, airway obstruction, and lung damage, often triggered by cigarette smoke. Dysregulated autophagy and inflammation are key contributors to its progression. Although double-stranded RNA-binding protein Staufen homolog 1 (STAU1), a multifunctional protein primarily involved in mRNA transport and localization, is identified as a potential biomarker, its role in COPD pathogenesis remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Life
November 2024
Biophysics and Cellular Biotechnology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Optical tweezers, which leverage the forces exerted by radiation pressure, have emerged as a pivotal technique for precisely manipulating and analyzing microscopic particles. Since Arthur Ashkin's ground-breaking work in the 1970s and the subsequent development of the single-beam optical trap in 1986, the capabilities of optical tweezers have expanded significantly, enabling the intricate manipulation of biological specimens at the micro- and nanoscale. This review elucidates the foundational principles of optical trapping and their extensive applications in the biomedical sciences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiome
January 2025
Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden.
Background: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease affecting cereal crops including wheat, barley, rye, oats and maize. Its predominant causal agent is the ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum, which infects the spikes and thereby reduces grain yield and quality. The frequency and severity of FHB epidemics has increased in recent years, threatening global food security.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulations, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic.
In RNA interference (RNAi), long double-stranded RNA is cleaved by the Dicer endonuclease into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which guide degradation of complementary RNAs. While RNAi mediates antiviral innate immunity in plants and many invertebrates, vertebrates have adopted a sequence-independent response and their Dicer produces siRNAs inefficiently because it is adapted to process small hairpin microRNA precursors in the gene-regulating microRNA pathway. Mammalian endogenous RNAi is thus a rudimentary pathway of unclear significance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, The College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, 24 South Section 1, 1st Ring Road, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, P.R. China.
Region-specific RNA modifications are crucial for advancing RNA research and therapeutics, including messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines and immunotherapy. However, the predominant method, synthesizing regionally modified mRNAs with short single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) splints, encounters challenges in ligating long mRNA fragments due to the formation of RNA self-folded complex structures. To address this issue, we developed an efficient strategy using an easily obtained long double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) as a ligation splint after in situ denaturing, while parts of this dsDNA are the templates for transcribing mRNA fragments.
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