Use of RNA Interference Technology for Improving Economically Valuable Traits of Cereal Crops

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is a new potential tool for plant breeding by introducing small noncoding RNA sequences with the possibility of silencing gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. The ability to decrease the expression of a certain gene provides the possibility of acquiring a new characteristic through the elimination or accumulation of certain plant traits, which leads to biochemical or phenotypic changes that the original plants do not have. A progress (reached over the past decades) in the application of RNAi for the creation of cereal crops with improved economically valuable traits is described in this literature review. The main stages of the mechanism of gene silencing mediated by short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), peculiarities of their biogenesis, mode of action, and distribution are briefly presented. Numerous examples of the development of different biotechnological approaches to the improvement of cereals using gene transformation and exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules are summarized. The possibilities of using RNAi technology for changing the agronomic traits of plants, increasing the nutritional value and quality of the grain, and reducing the number of toxic compounds and allergens are highlighted. Considerable attention is paid to the practical results of different applications of RNAi to increase the resistance of grain crops to biotic stress factors (particularly, viruses, bacteria, fungi, pest insects, and nematodes). The examples of using siRNA-mediated RNAi to improve the cereal resistance to abiotic stresses (including drought and salinity) are given.