Using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to combat fungal plant pathogens

The application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) for pest and disease management in plants is a rapidly evolving field, gaining traction as a promising tool in integrated and biological crop protection. While dsRNA-based strategies for controlling insect pests have shown remarkable success, their use against microbial pathogens, such as fungi, remains in its early stages of development.

In a groundbreaking study published in Communications Biology, the ERA-NET SusCrop “BioProtect” consortium, led by Manfred Heinlein at IBMP and including Karl-Heinz Kogel (holder of the 2024 Gutenberg Chair at IBMP), along with collaborators from the Universities of Helsinki (Finland) and Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (Germany), has demonstrated effective control of Magnaporthe oryzae, a major fungal pathogen. The research shows that exogenous treatment of plants with dsRNA targeting fungal genes can activate two complementary mechanisms: sequence-specific RNA interference (RNAi) and a sequence-independent fungal stress response.