Cross-Kingdom RNAs in Insect-Plant Interactions: Discovery, Functions, Visualization, and Applications

Cross-kingdom RNAs are RNA molecules that traffic between organisms from different kingdoms, where they play functional roles in their hosts. These RNAs have been widely observed in various parasite-host interactions, particularly in cross-kingdom RNA interference (RNAi) involving small RNAs. Extensive studies have explored small RNA-mediated interactions in microorganism-plant and insect-plant systems. However, the role of long RNAs in cross-kingdom communication remains largely unexplored.

Since the discovery of Ya1 in Myzus persicae—an aphid lncRNA that migrates into host plants and acts as a virulence factor to promote aphid colonization— we have found that many aphid species can secrete lncRNAs into the host plants. Additionally, we found that the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) also translocates the lncRNAs into rice plants. In this talk, I will describe the discovery of Ya1 and discuss the functional roles of insect-derived cross-kingdom lncRNAs in host plants. I will then introduce RNA switch-controlled RNA-triggered fluorescence (RNA switch-RTF), an innovative technology for visualizing insect RNAs in living plants. Finally, I will demonstrate how RNA switch-RTF can be leveraged to enhance plant defense by detecting insect-derived RNAs.