Dear all,

We are co-organizing a technical session in the Theme 1 (T1.35) at the IUFRO Congress in Stockholm, 2024 about the use of RNA strategies (including hypovirulence and RNAi) for the management of forest pest and diseases. 

Technical Theme 1. Strengthening forest resilience and adaptation to stress

T1.35. Use of RNA strategies for the control of forest pests and diseases: mycoviruses and interfering RNA

The search for environmentally-friendly products for plant disease management is a priority worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi)-related tools and strategies as well as (myco)virus-mediated biocontrol may offer a promising solution. RNAi is a gene regulatory system, conserved in eukaryotic organisms, that silences the expression of certain transcripts in a sequence-specific manner via double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) processing. Transgenic expression or topical application of dsRNAs induces systemic gene silencing against forest pathogens in target organisms. Mycoviruses or fungal viruses are widespread in all major taxa of fungi, and have increasingly been isolated and characterized in recent years. While they are largely symptomless, some confer hypovirulence to their host phytopathogenic fungi with potential as biological agents. This session will deal with those two environmental-friendly methodologies for forest disease management.

The session includes talks and posters and the deadline for submission is 2 June 2023. In the following link you will find information about the congress https://iufro2024.com/call-for-congress-abstract.

We hope to see you at this session!

Kind regards,

Jonatan Niño Sánchez

University of Valladolid. Campus Yutera Edificio E, 34071 Palencia, Spain

Nobuhiro Suzuki

Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki, Japan

Julio Javier Diez Casero

University of Valladolid. Campus Yutera Edificio E, 34071 Palencia, Spain

Julio Javier Diez Casero