REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Mobile RNAs as Systemic Signaling Beyond Boundaries for Plant Stress Resistance
Provisionally accepted
- 1Fuzhou University School of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou, China
- 2Fuzhou University School of Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou, China
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Plant mobile RNAs—including small RNAs (miRNAs, siRNAs), mRNAs, lncRNAs, and tRNA fragments—function as systemic signaling molecules that traverse cellular, tissue, and species boundaries to coordinate plant adaptation to environmental stresses. Here, we summarize the critical roles of mobile RNAs in mediating systemic adaptation to abiotic challenges and biotic interactions. Crucially, we highlight the diverse transport mechanisms enabling their movement and discuss the emerging functional versatility of mobile RNAs, which extends beyond transcriptional regulation to encompass epigenetic modifications, resource allocation, and cross-species communication. These fundamental insights are driving transformative applications: Mobile RNAs provide the foundation for developing systemic RNAi-based biopesticides and are being integrated with CRISPR-Cas technologies to overcome delivery barriers and enable heritable, transgene-free genome editing in crops. Understanding and harnessing mobile RNA networks offers unprecedented potential for engineering resilient crops and implementing precise, sustainable crop protection strategies to address global food security challenges.
Keywords: mobile RNAs, Stress resistance, Systemic signaling, RNA trafficking, RNAi applications
Received: 25 Sep 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Li, Bai and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiao Han
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.