title: Small RNAs--the secret agents in the plant-pathogen interactions.
abstract: Eukaryotic regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) that induce RNA interference (RNAi) are involved in a plethora of biological processes, including host immunity and pathogen virulence. In plants, diverse classes of sRNAs contribute to the regulation of host innate immunity. These immune-regulatory sRNAs operate through distinct RNAi pathways that trigger transcriptional or post-transcriptional gene silencing. Similarly, many pathogen-derived sRNAs also regulate pathogen virulence. Remarkably, the influence of regulatory sRNAs is not limited to the individual organism in which they are generated. It can sometimes extend to interacting species from even different kingdoms. There they trigger gene silencing in the interacting organism, a phenomenon called cross-kingdom RNAi. This is exhibited in advanced pathogens and parasites that produce sRNAs to suppress host immunity. Conversely, in host-induced gene silencing (HIGS), diverse plants are engineered to trigger RNAi against pathogens and pests to confer host resistance. Cross-kingdom RNAi opens up a vastly unexplored area of research on mobile sRNAs in the battlefield between hosts and pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. Electronic address: hailing.jin@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Hailing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering