2026-05-29T23:33:25Zhttps://riuma.uma.es/rest/oai/request

oai:riuma.uma.es:10630/456422026-03-06T10:27:08Zcom_10630_2254col_10630_37953

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Jiménez-Castro, Lucía author López-Laguna, Alba author Fernández-Ortuño, Dolores author Pérez-García, Alejandro author Polonio Escalona, Alvaro Acisclo author 2026-02-12 Phytopathogenic fungi pose an escalating threat to global food security and ecosystem stability, as resistance and environmental concerns diminish the effectiveness of conventional fungicides. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-based fungicides offer a species-specific, eco-friendly alternative. We introduce LUCID (Locating Uncovered, conserved, and Indispensable for pathogenicity Determinants), a computational pipeline that accelerates the development of RNAi-based biofungicides by integrating target identification with dsRNA design and off-target prediction. LUCID employs a dual-branch strategy to identify both Conserved Essential Proteins (CEPs) and Conserved Non-Annotated Proteins (CNAPs), leveraging transcriptomic data and comparative genomics across diverse fungal species. Validation in Botrytis cinerea demonstrated high efficacy, with 67% of proposed targets successfully silenced and an average silencing efficiency of 96%. Additionally, coupling LUCID with advanced protein language models (PLMs) revealed a novel pathogenicity determinant in B. cinerea: a putative mediator complex protein. LUCID offers a scalable, species-agnostic framework for designing sustainable fungicides, enabling rapid, targeted control of fungal diseases with minimal ecological impact. Lucía Jiménez-Castro, Alba López-Laguna, Dolores Férnandez-Ortuño, Alejandro Pérez-García, Álvaro Polonio (2026). LUCID: An Integrative Approach for Target Discovery and dsRNA Design in Plant Fungal Pathogens. Plant Biotchnology Journal. Wiley, 1-19 p. https://hdl.handle.net/10630/45642 10.1111/pbi.70526 Hongos fitopatógenos LUCID: An Integrative Approach for Target Discovery and dsRNA Design in Plant Fungal Pathogens