Abstract：
Plants possess an arsenal of different classes of small RNAs (sRNAs) of variable size, which play a regulatory role in a multitude of physiological and pathological processes via transcriptional or post-transcriptional gene silencing. The hard challenges that agriculture will face in the next few decades, such as an increasing demand for agrifood production related to the global increase in population, have stimulated the development of innovative biotechnological approaches in agriculture. In this regard, the use of artificial sRNAs has already been exploited successfully for many purposes, including control of severe plant diseases, improvement of genetic and agronomic traits of cultivated species, and increasing the nutritional value of plant foodstuffs. This strategy relies on the application of synthetic sRNA molecules to induce specific physiological responses by triggering appropriate RNA silencing pathways. This review contextualizes the use of artificial sRNAs in consideration of the huge diversity of RNA silencing mechanisms in plants. Additionally, the discussion also examines microRNAs from edible plants and exosome-like vesicles, also known as plant-derived edible nanoparticles (ENPs), which themselves can act as micronutrients.
摘要：
植物拥有不同类型的大小可变的小RNA（sRNA），通过转录或转录后基因沉默在许多生理和病理过程中起调节作用。未来几十年农业将面临的严峻挑战，例如与全球人口增长相关的对农业食品生产的需求增加，刺激了农业创新生物技术方法的发展。在这方面,人工sRNAs的使用已经被成功地用于许多目的，包括控制严重的植物病害，栽培物种的遗传和农艺性状的改善，增加植物性食品的营养价值。该策略依赖于合成sRNA分子的应用,以通过触发适当的RNA沉默途径来诱导特定的生理反应。考虑到植物中RNA沉默机制的巨大多样性，这篇综述介绍了人工sRNA的使用。此外,讨论还研究了来自可食用植物和外泌体样囊泡的microRNAs，也称为植物来源的可食用纳米颗粒（ENPs），它们本身可以充当微量营养素。
