Learning from fungicide resistance: evolutionary insights to guide RNAi-based control of fungal crop pathogens

Joris A. Alkemade, Nichola J. Hawkins, Elena Baraldi, Alan G. Buddie, Helen M. Cockerton, Isabel Corkley, Bart A. Fraaije, Ester Gaya, Danna R. Gifford, Florian Hartig, Kostya Kanyuka, Aline Koch, Jonatan Niño Sánchez, Gail M. Preston, Michael F. Seidl, Pietro D. Spanu, Bernhard T. Werner, Joy Lyu, Timothy G. Barraclough

Fungal Biology Reviews, 53, 100443 (2025)

Cite this

@article{alkemade2025learning,
  author = {Joris A. Alkemade and Nichola J. Hawkins and Elena Baraldi and Alan G. Buddie and Helen M. Cockerton and Isabel Corkley and Bart A. Fraaije and Ester Gaya and Danna R. Gifford and Florian Hartig and Kostya Kanyuka and Aline Koch and Jonatan Niño Sánchez and Gail M. Preston and Michael F. Seidl and Pietro D. Spanu and Bernhard T. Werner and Joy Lyu and Timothy G. Barraclough},
  title = {Learning from fungicide resistance: evolutionary insights to guide RNAi-based control of fungal crop pathogens},
  journal = {Fungal Biology Reviews},
  volume = {53},
  pages = {100443},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.fbr.2025.100443},
}

DOI: 10.1016/j.fbr.2025.100443
Cited by 22 (Google Scholar) · 21 (OpenAlex), as of 07 September 2026

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Abstract

Crop protection against fungal pathogens is essential to prevent crop losses and maintain food security. Current crop protection relies heavily on chemical fungicides. However, rapid evolution of fungicide resistance, the constant appearance of new pathogens, and legislation against chemical pesticides due to concerns regarding their impact on human health and the environment, mean new crop protection strategies are urgently required. One elegant solution is double-stranded RNA-based crop protection, which aims to silence selected genes in the pathogen to reduce crop damage. This technology brings the promise of targeting specific genes, which could be chosen to maximise protection, minimize off-target effects and reduce the risk of resistance evolution. Here we discuss strategies for successful use of this novel technology based on lessons learned from fungicide resistance and recent discoveries in fungal evolution derived from genome-sequencing.

What the paper shows and why it matters (AI-generated)

Decades of hard-won lessons about how fungal crop pathogens evolve resistance to conventional fungicides are collected here into concrete design guidance for a newer technology: RNA-interference-based crop protection, which silences a pathogen's own genes rather than poisoning it outright. The paper is already being cited across the RNAi and biocontrol literature it was written for, from antifungal-compound discovery to sustainable disease-management reviews — early evidence that the resistance-durability argument is landing with the applied audience it targets.