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Abstract Gene silencing caused by small RNAs provides new opportunities to explore pathogen-host interactions and potential strategies for disease control over the past years. Plant pathogenic fungi(PPF) are major disease agents responsible for crop losses and represent a serious threat to the future of food stocks and global security. Therefore, knowledge of the pathogenetic mechanism of PPF as well as the resistance mechanism of host plant, development of new and improved strategies to control diseases caused by these large group of PPF are primary challenges for the scientific community. Host-induced gene silencing (HIGS), developed on the basis of RNAi, is a new technology which has been shown to be an auspicious strategy for the development of transgenic plants to control fungal diseases and proved a novel tool to address gene function in obligate biotrophic pathogens. More and more studies have shown that the expression of silencing constructs in plants designed on fungal genes can specifically silence their targets in invading pathogenic fungi. This review described the molecular mechanisms, development, application prospects, and the advantages or disadvantages of HIGS in functional verification of pathogenic fungi genes. In addition, the prominent basic questions needed to be solved of HIGS are discussed.
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Received: 15 November 2012
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