Development of a transgenic rice line with strong and broad resistance against four devastating rice viruses through expressing a single hairpin RNA construct

Chenyang Li, Jianxiang Wu, Shuai Fu, Yi Xu, Yaqin Wang, Xiuling Yang, Ying Lan, Feng Lin, Linlin Du, Tong Zhou^*, Xueping Zhou^*

Abstract: Rice is crucial for global food security but faces threats from viruses like rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV), southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), rice stripe virus (RSV), and rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV). Traditional breeding for resistance is hampered by limited natural resistance sources. This study explores RNA interference (RNAi) technology to develop transgenic rice with broad-spectrum viral resistance. The research yielded a transgenic rice line, ZJU-4K, expressing a hairpin RNA (hpRNA) targeting the four viruses, achieving substantial resistance. Molecular analyses confirmed the stable inheritance and expression of the hpRNA in ZJU-4K, leading to effective silencing of the viral genomes. Phenotypic evaluations showed that ZJU-4K exhibited high resistance to RBSDV, SRBSDV, RSV, and RRSV compared to wild-type plants. This study demonstrates the potential of RNAi for engineering rice with resistance to multiple viruses, offering a promising avenue for enhancing crop resilience and stability in the face of viral threats.

论文链接：https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.14334