Fungal long non-coding RNA hijacks rice microRNA to boost infection

A study reveals Magnaporthe oryzae secretes a fungal long non-coding RNA (lnc117761) that translocates into rice cells and binds the host miRNA miR5827, preventing it from repressing the PKR1 immune-regulator gene. This sponging lifts PKR1 repression, enabling fungal virulence; deleting lnc117761 or mutating its miR5827-binding site reduces infection, while rice plants overexpressing the lncRNA become more susceptible. The work identifies a cross-kingdom RNA interaction (RNA–RNA) as a virulence mechanism and shows the rice miR5827–PKR1 axis also influences disease resistance, with potential for RNA-based crop protection, including similar regulatory RNA sequences in other pathogens like Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium graminearum.