2025/04/01 by Xiaohui Liu, Peihong Wang, Sai Wang +11 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics #Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies #Plant pathogens and resistance mechanisms
paper · doi:10.1093/plcell/koaf082
openalex publication_date 2025/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/04/09 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are prevalent in eukaryotic cells and have been linked to disease progressions. Their unique circular structure and stability make them potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Compared with animal models, plant circRNA research is still in its infancy. The lack of effective tools to specifically knock down circRNAs without affecting host gene expression has slowed the progress of plant circRNA research. Here, we have developed a CRISPR-Cas13d tool that can specifically knock down circRNAs in plant systems, successfully achieving the targeted knockdown of circRNAs in rice (Oryza sativa). We further focused on Os-circANK (a circRNA derived from Ankyrin repeat-containing protein), a circRNA differentially expressed in rice upon pathogen infection. Physiological and biochemical experiments revealed that Os-circANK functions as a sponge for miR398b, suppressing the cleavage of Cu/Zn-superoxidase dismutase (CSD)1/CSD2/copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase/superoxidase dismutaseX through competing endogenous RNA, leading to reduced reactive oxygen species levels following Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) infection and a negative regulation of rice resistance to bacterial blight. Our findings indicate Os-circANK inhibits rice resistance to bacterial blight via the microRNA398b(miR398b)/CSD/SOD pathway.