A pathogen lncRNA secreted into rice sequesters a host miRNA for virulence

A fungal long non-coding RNA from Magnaporthe oryzae translocates into rice cells to sequester a host microRNA, facilitating infection and revealing an RNA-based pathogen-host interaction mechanism. This mechanism involves the repression of PKR1, a negative immunity regulator. The discovery was published in Nature on May 20, 2026.