Spraying of dsRNA molecules derived from Phytophthora infestans, along with nanoclay carriers as a proof of concept for developing novel protection strategy for potato late blight

Abstract

Phytophthora. infestans is a late blight-causing oomycetes pathogen. It evolves and adapts to the host background and new fungicide molecules rapidly within a few years of their release, most likely due to the predominance of transposable elements in its genome. Frequent applications of fungicides cause environmental concerns. Here we developed to target specific RNA interference-based molecules, along with nano clay carriers, that when sprayed on plants are capable of effectively reducing the late blight infection.