BioCNTs Mediated Delivery of Systemically Mobile Small RNAs via Leaf Spray to Control Both Tomato DNA and RNA Viruses
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Tomato viral diseases severely restrict the safe and efficient tomato production, and current control methods are lacking. Therefore, the development of green and efficacious biopesticides is imperative. The initiation of RNA interference (RNAi) by topically applied double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has potential applications in crop protection. However, the instability and limited mobility of exogenous naked RNAi molecules severely limit their practical large-scale application. Here, a robust method combining dsRNA and shRNA-mediated silencing technology with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)-based nanocarriers (BioCNTs) is developed to prevent tomato mosaic virus, tomato spotted wilt virus, and tomato yellow leaf curl virus through exogenous spraying. This method is nontoxic to tomato plants and enables effective delivery of dsRNA or shRNA for long-term silencing. By integrating shRNAs and tRNA-like structure (TLS) with BioCNTs, we developed a highly effective biopesticide with systemic mobility. After 14 days of spraying, the control efficacy remained high in the upper unsprayed leaves. These findings indicate that BioCNTs-mediated dsRNA/shRNA has strong inhibitory effects, and TLS enables systematic movement of shRNA in plants, maintaining long-term virus silencing efficacy. Therefore, the simple and low-cost BioCNTs-TLS system holds significant potential as an effective, green, and sustainable tool for controlling plant viral diseases.
Source: Advanced Science
Authors: Xuedong Liu, Xiaofei Liang, Zipeng Cai, Zheng Liu, Xuefeng Wang, Changyong Zhou, Mengji Cao, Sijia Liu
Language: English
Topic: Plant Virus Research Studies
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,730
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Agricultural University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University of Agriculture, Southwest University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Program, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W4417537232