Systemic mobile RNAs: From molecular mechanisms to agricultural applications.

Plants use mobile RNAs as systemic signals, coordinating growth, development, and environmental responses across tissues, with movement spanning cell-to-cell and long-distance pathways.

• Why it matters: Understanding how RNAs travel and function is key to filling gaps in the mechanisms of systemic signaling and to enabling practical, sustainable crop improvement strategies.
• What they did: The work reviews recent evidence for mobile RNAs moving via plasmodesmata, extracellular vesicles, and the phloem, and discusses mobility determinants such as sequence motifs, RNA-binding proteins, and epitranscriptomic modifications.
• The result: It links these mechanistic insights to agricultural applications, including mobile CRISPR-associated protein 9 for transgene-free breeding and RNA-based nanocarriers for sustainable pest management.

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