PubMed · 2026-08-27
Plants can package tiny RNA molecules into microscopic bubbles that travel outside their cells and sometimes even into fungi or other organisms, potentially silencing genes in the attacker. This review sorts real evidence from wishful thinking, and lays out design rules for turning this natural mail system into RNA-based crop sprays that need no genetic modification.
Establishes a multi-step 'evidence ladder' requiring proof of RNA generation, cargo selection, membrane packaging, extracellular stability, recipient uptake, and functional gene silencing before a plant EV RNA can be called biologically active
Identifies that many existing studies conflate simple RNA detection or vesicle association with true cross-kingdom functional delivery, a key source of overinterpretation in the field
Proposes native plant EVs, plant-derived nanovesicles, synthetic vesicles, and hybrid nanocarriers as programmable platforms for sequence-specific, non-GMO crop protection