Cell & Developmental Biology
Open Access

Abstract

Engineering Crop Plants for Nematode Resistance through Host-Derived RNA Interference

Selvaraj Tamilarasan and Manchikatla Venkat Rajam

Plant parasitic nematodes are major threat for crop plants and cause severe economic losses worldwide annually. Various strategies deployed for the control of these notorious parasites has resulted either in limited success, or having huge negative impact on environment. RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene-silencing phenomenon that is conserved in various eukaryotes. Experimentally induced RNAi is highly specific and potent, leading to its wide utilization in functional studies for exploring gene functions. Crops engineered through RNAi have proven to be successful in protection against pest and parasites, including nematodes. Engineering nematode resistance in crop plants through host-derived RNAi is largely based on the selection of target gene. The expression of nematode specific dsRNA in plants generates siRNAs and taken up by nematodes on feeding. Depending upon the function, level of expression and silencing efficacy of the target gene, resistance was determined. RNAi seems to be promising in many aspects, such as providing durable resistance to crops against plant parasitic nematodes in the near future. In the present article, we have reviewed the published work on the host-derived RNAi for developing nematode resistance in plants.