A conserved small RNA-generating gene cluster undergoes sequence diversification and contributes to plant immunity
Abstract Small RNA-mediated gene silencing contributes to plant immunity. The secondary small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway promotes defense by silencing target genes in invading fungal and oomycete pathogens. Many secondary siRNAs are derived from transcripts potentially encoding pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins. Here, we report that siRNA production is an ancient function of a conserved clade of PPR genes that undergo extensive within-species diversification. In Arabidopsis thaliana , siRNA-source PPR s are physically clustered on Chromosome 1. These sequences are diversified through gene duplication followed by sequence diversification and accumulation of high-impact variations including pseudogenization, leading to the accumulation of a diverse siRNA pool. These features are consistent with the engagement of PPR -siRNAs in a co-evolutionary arms race with the pathogens. This study defines siRNA-producing PPR s as a class of defense genes and highlights the potential of PPR -siRNA-based engineering as a strategy to enhance disease resistance.
Authors
- Bozeng Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3986-9622)
- Yingnan Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6088-4632)
- Zhixue Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6905-2544)
- AmirAli Toghani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0644-699X)
- Nicola Atkinson
- Jixian Zhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0217-0666)
- Yan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5950-8904)
- Jianhua Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9383-2559)
- Huijun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2896-3867)
- Feng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5556-3789)
- Qiao Yue
- Wenbo Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4767-7209)
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- University of Science and Technology (YE)
- Nanjing Agricultural University (CN)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Cornell University (US)
- Norwich Research Park (GB)
- Scarborough Health Network (CA)
- Sainsbury Laboratory (GB)
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Department of Biological Sciences (BY)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-08-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77164-1
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.77
Funders
- UK Research and Innovation
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council